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PROVINfETOVN 


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01  ill  M  FROM  THE  TIF  1. 


R    brief    Historical    Description    of   Prcvir\ceto-wri,    past    arid 

present ;    Old  Records  ;   Lar\dir[g  of  tr\e  Pilgrims  ;    Loss  of 

tr\e  Eriglisri  Frigate  Son\erset ;  tt\e  Fire  Departrr|er\t ;    J. 

C.  Freerqarj  Post  55.  G.  R.  R.  ;     Whales  arid  Wrial- 

ir\g  ;     Codfisr|irig  :      Public  Buildirigs  ;     R  few 

Biographical     SKetcrjes,     witr\   Portraits ; 

Iriciderrts,    Ariecdotes,    Stories  of  trie 

Place,  Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


Illustrated    witty    Thirty -Ttyree    Ei^gravirjgs, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,    in    the  year  1890,  Isy  Herman  A. 
Jennings,  in  the  office   of  the  Librarian   of  Congress,  at 

Washington,  I).  C. 

Engravings    by  the  Boston    Engraving    Co.,  227  Tremont  Street,  Boston, 

Mass.,  from  Photographs  hy  George  H.  Niekerson,  William  M.  Smith, 

and  Irving  Rosenthal,  of  Provineetown. 


i  > 


>>' 


THIS    BOOK    WAS    PKINTEO    BY     . 


•  > 


FRED.  RALLETT 
•      JOB  PRINTER 

YARMOUTHPORT,  MASS. 


I  carry  a  Full  Line  of  tr\e  Latest  and   Neatest 
Styles  of  Type,  arid  car]  furnish  Anything 
you    nqay  need   in 

FINE     PRINTING 


at   Srprt  Notice,  and  Guarantee   Satisfaction 
in   Every  Particular. 


I    MAKE    A    SPECIALTY    OF    BOOK    AND   JOB 

PRINTING    AND    ATTEND    TO    ALL 

ORDERS    PERSONALLY. 


SAJtfPkES    PI^OjVtPTIjY    SUBMITTED. 

FI^EQ.    fi/khUKTT        - 

-         YAWOUT^PO^T 


1  <  *  •  • 


PREFACE. 

In  preparing  this  book  for  the  public,  I  do  not  lay 
any  claim  to  its  being  a  work  of  literary  merit,  nor 
that  it  will  fill  a  long-felt  want  in  American  litera- 
ture. The  claim  I  make  for  it  is  full}'  explained  in 
the  title,  —  "  Odds  and  Ends  from  the  Tip  End.'' 
I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  is  much  of 
interest  in  this  quaint,  old  town  that  I  have  not  re- 
ferred to,  but  to  describe  everything  would  require 
years  of  labor  and  form  a  library  of  many  vol- 
umes, —  a  task  for  an  abler  pen  than  mine.  In  the 
historical  part  I  have  endeavored  to  be  as  correct  as 
possible,  but  where  one  has  to  depend  so  largely  up- 
on tradition,  errors  will  unavoidably  creep  in.  The 
"  Old  Record*  "  have  been  faithfully  copied  from 
the  orignal  books,  and  of  them  I  can  truthfully  say, 
that  they  are  verbatim  copies.  In  "  Stories,  Inci- 
dents and  Anecdotes.  '  every  one  is  true,  with  one 
exception,  and  that  the  reader  must  be  very  obtuse 
not  to  discern.  Some  of  the  Organizations  which 
I  have  described  I  have  submitted  my  manuscript 
to  members  of,   who  have  corrected  and  approved  it. 

And  here  I  wish  to  thank  all  those  who  have  as- 

M184194 


sisted  me  in  obtaining  facts  and  figures,  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  and  Town  Clerk,  especially. 

To  the  critics,  who  will  say  this,  that,  or  the  other 
is  wrong,  I  will  say,  skip  those  places  and  read  only 
what  is  right,  and  be  as  lenient  as  possible  with  my 
failings. 

And  now  to  the  Provincetowner,  here  or  abroad, 
and  also  the  stranger  that  sojourneth  with  us  for  a 
season,  I  respectfully  dedicate  this  little  book,  and 
hoping  it  will  interest  them  and  meet  with  their 
approval,  I  sign  myself, 

Yours  truly, 

Herman  A.  Jennings. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Visit  of  the  Norsemen,       -            -           -           -  9 

Landing  of*  the  Pilgrims,        -            -            -  15 

History,         ------  19 

Old  Records,       -----  27 

Schools,         -           -           -           -           -           -  41 

Fire  Department,  -  -44 

Rebellion  of  1861-65,       -           -           -           -  52 

Wreck  of  the  Somerset,            -  70 

Long  Point,             -           -           -                       -  76 

Whales  and  Whaling,  80 

Codfishing,              -----  97 

Public  Buildings,            -            -            -  105 

Biographical  Sketches,                 -           -           -  120 

Industries,           -----  135 

Benefit  and  Church  Societies,     -           -           -  147 


Stories  and  Anecdotes,           -           -  -          171 

Noteworthy  Catches  of  Fish,     -           -  -    193 

* 

Table  of  Dates  of  Noted  Events,    -  -          195 

Business  Directory,            -  200 

Commercial  Travellers,           -           -  -         209 


,  •>    1    )     >  > 


,      » ,  >  t  J>  ■>     >  > ' 


VISIT  OF  THE  NORSEMEN. 

That  this  continent  was  discovered,  visited  and  a 
settlement  made  by  Europeans,  centuries  before  Co- 
lumbus and  his  contemporaries  made  their  discoveries 
is  a  well  authenticated  matter  of  history. 

Old  Norse  records  found  in  the  archives  at  Co- 
penhagen, Runic  Inscription,  Icelandic  Sagas,  have 
all  contributed  to  establish  that  fact,  just  as  surely 
as  the  discovery  of  the  Rosetta  Stone,  furnished  the 
key  by  which  Brugsch  Bey  and  other  Egyptologists, 
were  enabled  to  decipher  the  hieroglyphics  of  an- 
cient Egypt,  and  give  its  history  to  the  world,  which 
for  thousands  of  years  had  been  a  mystery. 

The  hardy  Norse  Vikings  pursuing  their  piratical 
voyages  to  Iceland  and  thence  to  Greenland,  where 
a  colony  was  established,  gradually  worked  their 
way  to  the  South  and  West  and  discovered  the  coast 
of  what  is  now  New  England.  uLeif,  the  Lucky," 
as  he  was  afterward  called,  hearing  of  the  newly 
discoverd  country,  found  by  Biarni  in  989,  resolved 
to  plant  a  colony  there.  A  ship  was  bought  and 
with  thirty-five  men  he  set  sail  for  the  newly-discov- 
ered land.      After  making    the    land  and  coasting 


10 

along  the  shores,  he  with  bis  little  band  passed  up 

what  is  now  called     Seaconnett  River  and  planted 

their  little  Colony    on  the    shores    of  Mount  Hope 
Bay,  near  what  is    now    Fall  River.     They  named 
their  little  colony  Lief s  Budir.  or  Leifs  Booths,  (for 
they  lived  in  booths  or  tents,)  and  the  surrounding 
country,  "  Vineland,  the  Good."     In  the  spring  of 
1001  with  a  cargo  of  grapes  and  timber  they  returned 
to  the  colony  at  Greenland  and  for  his  succes  he  re- 
ceived the  title  of  "  The    Lucky."     The  next  year 
his    younger    brother    Thorwald,    with    a  company, 
sailed  for  the  new  country.     Arriving  at  Liefsbudir, 
there  spent  the  winter.     The  next  spring  (1003)  he 
pursued  his  explorations  still  further  to  the  South 
and  West,  it  is  supposed  as  far  as  the  Carolinas,  re- 
turned and  wintered  again  at  Liefsbudir.     The  fol- 
lowing spring  (1004)  he  again  started  out  and  pur- 
suing his  explorations    to    the    North,  in  rounding 
Cape  Cod,  his  vessel  was  stranded  on  the  the  ex- 
treme end  of  the  Cape.      Here  he  hauled  his  vessel 
ashore  for  repairs  and  to  replace  the  keel  which  was 
broken ;  he    named  the    place    Kilar  Ness,  or  Keel 
Cape.     After  completing  his  repairs  he  sailed  away 
to  the  North-west,  and  in  a  bay  full  of  islands,  per- 
sumed  to  be  Boston  Bay,  was  wounded  in  the  side 
by  an    arrow    in    an    encounter    with  the   savages. 
Feeling  that  he  had  received  his  death  wound,  he 


11 

charged  his  followers  to   return     home  as  quickly  as 
they  could.     "But  me,  you  shall   carry  to  the  place 
where  we  repaired  our  ship,  which  I  thought  would 
be  such  a  goodly  place  to  dwell  in,  perhaps  the  words 
that  fell  from  me  there   will  prove  true,  and  I  shall 
indeed  abide  there  for  a  season.     There,  bury  me 
and  place  a  cross  at    my   head,  another    at  my  feet, 
and   call  the    place    Kross-a-Ness,   or    Cape  of    the 
Crosses."       His  instructions    were   carried  out  and 
here  on   the   end  of  the  Cape,  where  Provincetown 
now  stands,  his  comrades  laid  away  in  mother  earth, 
the  body  of  that  hardy  old  Norse  Viking,  Thorwald. 
The  vessel  returned    to     Leifsbuclir,   and  the  next 
spring  with  a  cargo  of  dried  grapes  and  other  pro- 
ductions   of    the  country,    returned    to  Greenland. 
Several  other  voyages    were    made,  but  we  mention 
only  this,  as  having  direct  connection  with  this  place. 
Chip  Hill,  so  called,  situated  in  the  western  part 
of  the  town,  in   the    year  1805,  was   graded   down 
some  twenty-five  feet,  and  levelled  for  the  purpose 
of  building  Salt  Works.     The  works  occupied  the 
place  till  1853,  when  the    business  was  abandoned 
and  the  land  sold  for  building  lots.     While  digging 
the  cellar  for  the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Mr.  Francis  A.  Paine,  at    the  depth  of  five  feet  a 
wall    of   masonry    was    found    about   three    feet  in 
height  and  two  feet  wide  at  the  base.     These  stones 
were  nicely  laid  in  shell-lime  mortar,  and  after  clear- 


12 


House  owned   bv   Francis    A.    Paine,    situated    on    the   old    Norse  Ruins, 

Chip  Hill. 

ing  off  a  space  from  the  bottom  of  the  wall,  there 
was  found  a  hard  earthen  floor  composed  of  peat, 
clay  and  fine  white  sand,  hammered  and  pounded  to- 
gether, making  a  hard  level  floor.  Upon  dig- 
ging further,  there  was  found  the  remains  of  a 
fireplace,  where  the  stones  of  which  it  was  made, 
were  partially  calcined  by  the  fire  ;  near  by  was  a 
small  collection  of  partially  decomposed  bones  most- 
ly of  sea  fowl.  It  is  a  pit}T  that  further  excavations 
were  not  made  at  that  time  and  the  whole  matter 
brought  to  light,  as  things  of  great  interst  to  estab- 
lish facts  in  history  might  have  been  found,  but  only 
enough  work  was  done  to  make  room  for  the  cellar 


13 

under  the  porch.     The  stones  of  which  this  wall  is 
made  were    evidently    brought    from    some  foreign 
country,  as  none  are  to  be  found  on  the  Cape,  nor  in 
any  place  in  this    country.      There  are  a  few  that 
closely  resemble  them,  found  on  the  Hudson  River, 
near  Rondout,  and  that    is    the    only  place  known 
where  there  is  even  a  resemblance.     The  theory  has 
been  advanced  by  scientific  men  that  this  was  the 
camping-place  of    Old  Thorwald  and  his  crew,  while 
repairing  his  ship,  and    it  seems    with  a  great  deal 
plausibility.     The  stones  were  probably  the  ballast 
taken  from  the  ship  to  enable  them  to  draw  her  fur- 
ther up  the  shore,  and  were  built  up  in  this  manner 
as  a  kind  of  fort  or    defence    against    the  savages, 
covered  over  with  the  vessel's    sails  to  protect  the 
crew  from  the  weather,  and  when  the  vessel  was  re- 
paired the  sails  were  taken  aboard,  sand. being  more 
easily  handled  was  taken  as  ballast,  leaving  the  stone 
wall  behind  to  be  buried  up  some  thirty  feet  by  the 
shifting  sands  during  the    eight    hundred  centuries 
that    had    elapsed.      Some    very    convincing    argu- 
ments of  this  theory  are  the  facts,  first,  that  it  was 
used  as  a  habitation  is   undoubted.      Second,  if  it 
had  been    the    foundation    of   a  wooden  structure, 
there  would  have  been  found  marks  of  discoloration 
in  the  sand  caused  by  the  decaying  of  the  wood,  but 
such  marks  were  not  found.     Third,  the  close  resem- 
blance in  the  work  to  that  displayed  in  building  the 


14 

Old  Mill  at  Newport,  R.  I.  By  whom  it  was  built, 
has  never  been  definitely  settled,  but  the  strongest 
evidence  is  given  in  favor  of  the  Norsemen. 

The  late  Hon.  Silas  dotterel,  of  that  place,  a  man 
well  known  for  his  interest  in  and  knowledge  of 
archaeology,  at  one  time  connected  with  the  Public 
Library,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there  could  be  no 
doubt,  but  both  structures  were  devised  and  con- 
structed by  the  same  race  of  men,  and  that  was  the 
ancient  Norsemen.  Until  this  theory  can  be  dis- 
proved and  a  more  plausible  one  substituted,  this 
place  can  claim  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  places  in  the 
New  World  visited  by  Europeans,  doming  clown 
through  the  lapse  of  centuries,  we  find  it  visited  by 
John    Smith    on    his    voyage    when    he    discovered 

Thatcher's  Island,  Straitsmouth  and  Isle  of  Shoals. 
Also  by  Bartholomew  Gosnold  in  the  Ship  Sparrow 
Hawk,  afterwards  wrecked  at  what  is  now  Orleans. 
It  was  also  visited  by  French  fishermen  prior  to  1620, 
Monhegin  traders,  and  the  notorious  Indian  kidnap- 
per and  slaver,  Hunt,  probably  made  this  harbor  his 
headquarters  while  engaged  in  his  nefarious  traffic 
along  the  coast.  Still,  notwithstanding  its  being  so 
well  known  and  from  its  size,  security,  and  close 
proximity  to  the  fishing  grounds,  advantages  which 
to-day  it  possesses  over  any  other  harbor  on  the  coast 
for  the  fishing  business,  no  attempt  was  made  to 
to  make  a  permanent  settlement  till  years  after  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Mayflower  and  the  very  last  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  MAYFLOWER  AND  LAND- 
ING OF  THE  PILGRIMS. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  noted  events, 
not  only  in  Provincetown  history,  but  also  most  in- 
timately connected  with,  and  leaving  its  impress 
upon  the  whole  nation,  —  the  arrival  and  stopping 
in  the  harbor  of  the  Mayflower  and  her  little  colony. 
Here  it  was  that  the  Pilgrim  band  first  landed  in 
the  New  World  after  their  long  and  boisterous  pas- 
sage. They  hailed  with  joyous  hearts  this  safe  and 
pleasant  harbor  of  refuge,  entered  and  anchored  on 
Nov.  11th,  1620,  O.  S.  It  being  Saturday,  the  next 
was  duly  observed  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving  to 
God,  who  had  safely  brought  them  through  trials 
and  dangers  to  this  haven  of  rest.  Had  thev  been 
fishermen  or  mariners,  instead  of  a  pastoral  and  agri- 
cultural people,  Plymouth  Rock  would  never  have 
become  so  celebrated  in  history  nor  so  often  referred 
to,  as  the  place  where  the  Pilgrims  landed.  Certain 
events  took  place  here  of  great  moment  that  still 
bear  their  impress  on  the  Common  wealth  and  Nation. 
In  this  harbor  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  was 
drawn  up  and  signed  the  compact  for  the  Govern- 


16 

nient  of  the  colony  a  primitive  form  of  repubicanism 
and  the  root  from  which  sprang  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States.  We  give  an  exact  copy  taken 
from  the  original  document  now  in  Pilgrim  Hall, 
Plymouth,  and  signed  by  the  men  of  the  company, 
forty-one  in  number : 

In  ye  name  of  Grod,  Amen, 

We,  whose  names  are  underwritten  the  loyal  sub- 
jects of  our  dread  and  soveraigne  Lord  King  lames 
by  ye  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France  and 
Ireland  King  Defender  of  the  Faith  etc :  having 
undertaken  for  ye  glory  of  God  and  ye  advance- 
ment of  ye  Christian  Faith  and  Honor  of  our  King 
and  Countrie  a  voyage  to  plant  ye  first  colony  in  ye 
ye  northern  part  of  Virginia,  doe  by  these  presents 
solemanly  and  mutually  in  ye  presence  of  God  and 
of  one  another  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  to- 
gether into  a  civil  body  politick  for  better  ordaining 
and  preservation  and  furtherance  of  ye  ends  afore 
said  and  by  virtue  hereof  to  enact,  constitute  and 
form  such  just  and  equall  laws  ordinances,  act  and 
constitution,  and  offices  from  time  to  time,  as  shall 
be  thought  most  meete  and  conveniant  for  ye  gener- 
al good  of  ye  Colonic  Unto  which  we  promise  all 
due  submission ,and  obedience.  In  witness  whereof, 
we  have  here  under  subscribed  our  names  at  Cap 
Codd,  ye  11th  of  November,  in  ye  year  of  ye  raigne 
of  our  Soverigne  Lord  King  lames,  of  England, 
France  and  Ireland  ye  eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland 
ye  fifty-fourth  A.  D.  1620. 

This  brief,  but  comprehensive  document,  was  the 


17 

first  written  constitution,  emanating  from  the  popu- 
lar will,  ever  adopted  in  America,  was  devised  and  exe- 
cuted on  the  first  day  of  their  arrival  here,  before  any 
other  business    was    transacted.      Finding  that  the 
place  was  not  suited  for  agriculture,  a  party  started 
out,  after  repairing  their  shallop,  or  small  boat,  to  ex- 
plore the  coast  for  a  more    favorable  location,    but 
we  only  treat  of  their  doings  here,  as  the  outcome  of 
the  cruise  in  the  boat  is  well  known.     After  resting 
on  the  Sabbath,  the  next  day  a  portion  of  the  men 
came  ashore  and  began  the  building  of  a  shallop,  cut- 
ting the  trees  that  grew  here  to  make  the  timbers,  and 
the  women  to  wash  the  clothes  used  on  the  vo}Tage,  thus 
dedicating  Monday  to  the  Goddess  of   Cleanliness, 
which  day  has  been  kept  for  that  purpose  by  their  de- 
scendants, wherever  located.      On    December  10th, 
the  first  affliction  befell  the  little  band  in  the  loss  of 
Mary,  the  wife  of  Governor  Bradford,  who,  b}7  some 
cause  unknown,  fell  overboard  from  the  vessel  during 
the  night,  was  drowned  amd  her  body  never  recovered. 
There  were  three  other  deaths  during  their  stay  here. 
On  the    16th,    Peregrine    White    was    born,    whose 
descendents  that  can    trace   their  lineage  direct  to 
him,  are  now  living  in  Duxbury  and  other  adjoining 
towns  to  Plymouth.     Thus,  here  occurred  the  first 
birth  and  death  of  the  Colony.     Here,  too  that  large 
of  heart,  but  small  of  stature,  the  "  Great  Heart  of 
Colony,"  as  he  has  been  called, —  Miles  Standish  mar- 


18 

shalled  and  drilled  his  army  of  sixteen  men,  formed 
an  exploring  expedition  and  marched  up  the  Cape  as 
far  as  what  is  now  Wellflet,  intending  to  do  battle 
with  the  Indians  should  they  prove  hostile,  but  find- 
ing none  on  which  to  exercise  his  warlike  skill,  confis- 
cated a  lot  of  corn  and  returned  without  a  battle. 
This  corn,  it  is  said,  was  kept  for  seed,  and  was  the 
means  of  keeping  the  colony  from  starvation  the  fol- 
lowing year  at  Plymouth.  Tradition  has  it  that  res- 
titution was  made  to  the  Indians  from  whom  it  was 
taken.  It  is  hardly  fair  to  question  the  act,  as  has 
been  done  by  some,  for  perhaps  under  the  circum- 
stances it  was  admissible.  Thus,  not  only  Hie  seed 
of  the  government  of  the  colony  was  from  this  place 
but  the  seed  for  its  support  was  taken  from  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  After  remaining  here  till  the  20th, 
anchor  was  weighed  and  attempt  made  to  reach  Ply- 
mouth, but  a  strong  head  wind  sprung  up  and  their 
final  stopping  place  was  not  reached  till  the  following 
day,  and  Plymouth  Rock  from  that  date  began  to  be 
a  matter  of  history,  and  to  be  known  as  the  place 
where  the  Pilgrims  landed.  Attempt  has  been  made 
to  have  some  mark  or  monument  erected  here  in 
memory  of  the  event,  but  it  has  always  failed  to  ma- 
ture. It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to-day  to  find  those 
that  are  called  well  versed  in  history,  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  here  was  the  first  landing  and  sta}~  of  the 
Pilgrims  or  of  events  that  occurred  during  their  stay. 


EARLY  HISTORY, 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  give  the  histo- 
try  of  the  place  in  regular  chronological  order  omit- 
ting anything  pertaining  to  church  affairs,  and  have, 
when  treating  of  that  subject,  a  separate  place  de- 
voted exclusively  to  Church  history  and  affairs. 
But  as  church  and  state  were  combined  in  the  earlv 
settlement  of  the  place,  and  all  business  pertaining 
to  both  departments  was  done  at  the  regular  Town 
Meeting,  the  records  of  which  were  kept  in  those 
early  days  in  a  very  crude  and  unsatisfactory  man- 
ner, it  would  be  an  impossibility  to  have  a  separate 
place  in  recording  their  history.  There  are  no  rec- 
ords of  when  the  place  was  first  settled,  and  only  tra- 
dition to  rely  upon  until  we  come  to  the  year  1724, 
the  date  of  the  oldest  record  book.  Prior  to  this 
time  it  was  a  part  of  Truro,  the  boundary  line  of  which 
crossed  the  Cape  from  shore  to  shore,  a  few  feet  to 
the  westward  of  what  is  now  the  eastern  school-house: 
all  to  the  westward  of  said  line  was  land  that  belong- 
ed to  the  Plymouth  Colony  at  first,  and  afterwards 
to  the  State.  This  land  was  reserved  for  fishing  pur- 
poses and   the   residence   of    the  sq natter  fishermen. 


20 
In  1727  it  was  incorporated  and  called  Provincetown, 
nut  as  there  were  settlers  east  of  the  line,  they  pe- 
titioned to  be  set  off  from  Truro  and  joined  to  Prov- 
incetown. Accordingly,  lots  one  and  two  were  added 
to  this  place,  and  the  boundary-line  drawn  across 
the  Cape  where  the  house  known  as  the  Reuben 
Wareham  property  now  stands,  which  at  that  time 
was  the  most  easterly  dwelling-house.  As  the  town 
grew,  buildings  were  erected  still  further  east,  and 
again  the  settlers  asked  to  be  joined  to  Province- 
town,  but  Truro  objected  unless  some  of  the  waste 
land  was  also  taken  in  as  well  as  the  dwelling-houses, 
and  the  boundary  line  was  again  moved  and  fixed  on 
the  top  of  the  western  hill  of  the  Great  Hollow,  so 
called.  Shortly  after  East  Harbor  Bridge  was  built, 
Truro  not  wishing  to  bear  all  of  the  expense  of  keep- 
ing up  what  was  of  so  much  benefit  to  Provincetown, 
the  boundarv  line,  was  changed  to  where  it  now  is, 
about  midway  of  the  State  Dike  at  East  Harbor.  In 
the  early  clays,  before  any  settlement  had  been  made 
here,  the  Pilgrims  claiming  their  right  of  possession 
of  the  fishing  privileges  in  the  waters  around  "  Cape 
Cod,"  and  the  use  of  the  land  for  curing  and  making 
their  fish,  would  come  here  during  the  summer  sea- 
son, do  their  fishing  business  and  return  to  Plymouth 
in  the  fall.  Sometimes  they  would  sell  the  privilege 
to  other  parties  to  fish  for  mackerel,  bass  or  cod,  and 
use  the  land  for  curing  purposes  at  a  rate  above  the 


21 

tax  that  was  paid  by  the  colonists,  always  reserving 
their  right  to  the  land  on  account  of  their  first  land- 
ing and  occupying  the  place. 

By  this  means,  the  harbor  and  land  of  this  extreme 
end  of  the  Cape,  was  quite  a  source  of  revenue  to  the 
Pilgrim  Colony.  It  is  the  general  opinion,  that  the 
first  permanent  settlement  was  made  on,  or  about 
the  year  1680,  but  the  name  of  the  party  that  settled 
i-;  lost  in  tradition,  or  at  least  has  been  so  conflict- 
ing tjiat  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  true  one. 
For  a  few  years  after  its  incorporation  it  was  a  pros- 
perous little  village,  but  for  some  cause  it  began  to 
go  down,  so  that  in  1748,  there  was  scarcely  a  family 
left,  but  in  1755,  there  were  ten  dwelling-houses,  be- 
sides some  store  buildings,  making  a  snug  little  vil- 
lage, which  has  steadily  increased  to  the  present  day. 
In  1763,  government  built  for  the  inhabitants  its  first 
place  of  worship,  which  was  situated  on  "  Meeting 
House  "  plain,  so  called,  the  location  not  very  definite- 
ly pointed  out,  but  on  or  near  the  extreme  north-west 
end  of  what  is  now  the  "  Old  Cemetery.'"  The  es- 
tablished creed  by  the  state,  was  the  Orthodox,  and 
one  Mr.  Spear  was  the  authorized  minister.  In  the 
year  1773,  the  church  building  was  torn  clown,  and 
another  one  erected,  using  some  of  the  old  building 
in  its  construction.  This  building  stood  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Catholic  parsonage.  It  was  called  the 
"the  Old  White  Oak,"  from  the  fact  that  the  frame 


'2'2 

was  of  that  wood,  and  cut  in  Barnstable.  The 
church  was  finished  and  dedicated  Feb.  20th,  1774. 
On  the  preceding  Dec.  7th,  1773,  at  a  legal  Town 
Meeting  assembled,  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  was  called 
upon  to  take  charge  of  the  society.  The  town  re- 
cords of  that  date  show  this  entry : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitans  of  Provincetown, 
being- legally  warned,  Thomas  Kilburn  being  Mod- 
erator at  sed  meeting,  there  agreed  by  vote  to  give 
untoe  Mr.  Samuel  Parker  for  his  yearly  salerie,  the 
sum  of  66£-13s.-4d.  lawful  monie  to  settel  in  sed 
town,  and  preach  ye  gospel  to  ye  inhabitans.  Also 
toe  give  untoe  him  the  frame  of  hys  house  and  to 
build  haff  of  it,  purposed  to  be  thirty  feet  in  length, 
twenty-seven  wide,  eight  in  the  wall  ;  likewise  cut 
his  fire  wood  and  toe  give  him  meddo  to  keep  two 
cows  in  the  best  of  the  meddo."      Per    me, 

Samuel  Atwood,  Town  Clerk. 

Samuel  Parker  accepted  the  call,  and  preached  in 
the  church  until  his  death,  which  took  place  April 
11th,  1811.  In  1843,  the  "  Old  White  Oak "  was 
taken  down,  and  the  present  church  built  of  the 
material,  with  the  addition  of  new  lumber.  The 
old  white  oak  frame  being  all  utilized  in  the  building. 
This  building  was  dedicated  Sept.  17th,  1843. 
In  the  building  owned  by  the  heirs  of  the  late  God- 
frey Ryder,  now  standing  opposite  the  Town  Hall, 
is  a  large  Gothic  window  which  was  taken  from  the 
"Old  White  Oak"  church  on  its  removal.     When 


23 

in  the  church,  it  was  in  the  rear  of  the  pulpit.  The 
seats  in  the  old  church  went  on  hinges,  and  were 
turned  up  when  the  people  rose  to  pray;  one  can  im- 
agine the  noise  made  when  the  congregation  seated 
themselves,  when  roguish  lads  in  the  back  part  of  the 
house  would  turn  up  a  dozen  or  more,  and  when  the 
preacher  would  say  amen,  run  along  and  help  make 
more  noise  by  striking  down  the  seats  one  after 
another.  In  1873,  this  church  was  thoroughly  over 
hauled,  a  brick  basement  placed  under  it  making  one 
large  vestry,  and  two  smaller  ones.  This  is  the 
church  of  to-dav.  It  was  re-dedicated  on  Feb.  20th, 
1874,  which  was  just  one  hundred  years  after  the 
building  and  dedication  of  the  old  original  "White 
Oak."  It  was  not  a  premeditated  affair  that  it  so 
happened,  but  a  singular  and  remarkable  coincidence. 
In  the  year  of  1793,  one  Mr.  Humbard.  a  Metho- 
dist preacher,  was  onboard  of  a  vessel  lying  in  the 
harbor  here,  wind  bound,  on  a  passage  from  New 
York  to  Halifax,  N.  S.,  came  ashore  and  preached  a 
Methodist  sermon  in  the  house  of  Samuel  Rider, 
then  standing  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Gosnold 
and  Commercial  streets,  site  now  occupied  by 
Adams's  drug  store  and  residence.  This  was  the  first 
introduction  of  Methodism,  and  from  that  sermon 
several  drew  off  from  the  established  Orthodox  creed. 
At  that  time,  church  and  state  were  one,  and  the 
religion   was  not  received  with  favor  by  the  majority 


24 

of  the  citizens.  The  liberal  spirit  of  the  present  day 
had  not  come  forth  and  persecution  of  those  of  a 
different  belief  by  the  stronger  party,  was  thought  to 
be  doing  God's  service.  However,  a  little  band  of 
nine  joined  together,  and  the  Methodist  church  was 
established,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  George  Can- 
non, the  first  preacher  stationed  here.  The  society 
grew  and  flourished  notwithstanding  the  persecution, 
and  as  all  church  affairs  were  settled  at  Town  Meet- 
ing, there  were  some  lively  discussions  at  the  meet- 
ings, and  if  the  reader  will  notice  in  the  chapter  on 
*■•  Old  Town  Records,"'  he  will  see  that  some  severe 
laws  were  passed.  A  little  over  two  years  after  the 
first  sermon  was  preached,  the  Methodists  withdrew 
and  built  a  house  of  worship  under  great  difficulties 
from  persecution  by  the  Orthodox,  having  the  timber 
for  the  frame  of  the  building  cut  up  by  a  mob,  and 
used  as  a  bon-fire,  on  which  was  also  placed  the 
effigy  of  the  Methodist  preacher.  That  the  Metho- 
dists also  possessed  pluck,  and  though  in  the  minority, 
showed  that  they  were  not  always  passive,  at  one 
time  the  keeper  of  the  church  where  the  Town  Meet" 
ings  were  always  held,  and  one  of  the  selectmen,  be" 
ing  Methodist,  got  possession  of  the  key  to  the  build" 
ing,  and  locked  out  the  Orthodox,  refused  to  give 
them  the  key  to  the  building  so  they  could  hold  a 
parish  meeting.  A  bass  viol  had  been  bought  by 
the  town  for  the    Church,  and    Samuel  Kilby,  the 


25 

player,  when  he  turned  Methodist,  concluded  that 
the  viol  had  turned  Methodist  also,  and  took  it  with 
him  as  part  of  the  spoils.  This  viol  is  in  existence 
to-day,  in  the  keeping  of  Mr.  George  C.  Hill.  The 
first  Methodist  church  was  built  on  the  site  of  the 
dwelling-house  opposite  the  residence  of  Charles  B. 
Snow,  on  Bradford  Street.  This  building  stood  un- 
til 1818,  when  it  was  torn  down,  and  another  built 
on  the  corner  of  Bradford  and  Ryder  Street,  where 
the  house  of  Dr.  Henry  Shortle  stands.  This  stood 
one  year,  when  it  was  enlarged,  forty  more  pews 
were  added,  and  the  building  stood  until  1837.  By 
that  time,  the  church  membership  had  so  increased 
that  a  larger  building  was  required  and  one  was 
built  opposite,  on  the  spot  where  St.  Peter's  Hall  now 
stands.  This  was  a  large  building,  with  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six  pews  on  the  lower  floor ;  it  remained 
until  1860,  when  the  present  structure  was  built,  and 
called  the  Center  M.  E.  Church.  In  a  fish  store  on 
the  lower  side  of  Commercial  Street,  nearly  opposite 
the  Town  Hall,  can  be  seen  a  large,  heavy,  panel 
door,  this  was  the  vestry  door  of  the  old  church,  and 
was  placed  there,  b}*  the  late  Francis  Joseph,  the 
owner  of  the  building.  From  the  time  of  this  church 
organization,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Geo.  Cannon, 
in  1795,  there  were  eleven  preachers  in  succession, 
when  Rev.  Alexander  McLane  was  stationed  here, 
who  gave  place  to  Epaphras  Kibby  in  1812,  who  on 


26 

account  of  ill  health,  as  the  church  records  state, 
remained  here  until  1824,  having  sole  charge  and  di- 
rection of  the  church.  During  the  meantime  he 
married  one  Betsey  Cook,  who  has  recently  died 
in  Chelsea  (January  30th,  1890)  at  the  advanced  age 
of  ninety-five  years,  three  months.  Rev.  Mr.  Kibby 
returned  again  and  had  charge  during  the  years  1828 
and  1829.  It  was  mainly  under  his  labors  that  the 
Society  grew  to  the  extent  it  has, —  the  largest  in  the 
place. 


COPIES  OF  OLD  RECORDS  AS  FOUND  IN 
THE  OLD  TOWN  BOOKS. 

Dec.  7th,  1773.  u  Voted  that  any  purson  should 
be  found  getting  cranberys  before  ye  twentyth  of 
September  excedeing  one  quart  should  be  liable  to 
pay  one  doler  and  have  the  berys  taken  away." 
Voted,  "  That  they  who  shall  find  any  pursons  so 
gathering  shall  have  them  and  the  doler." 

Samuel  Atwood, 

Town  Clark. 

Jan.  12th,  1789.  Voted.  John  Conant  keeper  of 
the  meeting-house,  and  to  swepe  it  every  four  weeks 
and  shet  and  open  the  winder  shetters  all  the  year 
round  for  which  serves  he  is  to  Receave  two  dolers, 
one  doler  to  be  given  out  of  the  treasury  to  whom- 
soever shall  bring  out  the  parson  or  parsons  that 
Rites  on  the  plasteren  in  the  meeting-house.  Charles 
Atkins  tiden  man  for  which  he  is  to  have  one  doler. 
Voted  to  buy  a  pitch  pipe  for  ye  Singers. 

June  25th,  1790.  Voted,  That  the  tax  bill  that 
was  sent  down  should  lay  unmedeld  with.  Voted, 
That  Seth  Nickerson  should  go  to  Boston  to  see  if 
he  could  get  the  Said  taxes  off. 

September  12,  1791.  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabi- 
tence  •  provincetown  Stephen  atwood  moderater 
agreed  to  send  Richard  perry  and  Elijah  Nickerson,  or 


28 

Seth  Nickerson  as  a  committe,  to  Mr.  Joseph  Snows, 
at  Harwich,  too  meet  the  other  committe  in  order  to 
try  to  get  the  Dutys  taken  of  the  Artecal  of  salt  and 
any  other  Grevenceses  they  may  think  proper. 

July  23d,  1798.  Voted  for  Abner  Dunham  to  be 
Custom  House  Officer  if  he  can  obtain  it  without 
charge  to  the  town. 

Copy  of  the  ivarrant  to  call  a  town  meeting  to  vote  for 
a  Federal  Representative,  Jan.  11th,  1779: 

To  Seth  Nickerson  Constable  of  the  town  of  Prov- 
incetown  Greeting,  you  are  hereby,  required  in  the 
name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  to 
Notify  and  warn  the  male  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Provincetown,  of  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  up- 
ward having  a  freehold  estate  within  the  Common- 
wealth of  the  annual  income  of  three  pounds,  or  any 
estate  to  the  value  of  sixty  pounds  too  meet  at  the 
meeting-house,  on  Thursday,  the  seventeenth  Day 
of  Jan.  Y.  next  at  teen  of  the  Clock  in  the  foar 
noon  to  give  in  their  votes  for  a  Federal  Reprasante- 
tive  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  agreeable 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  Said  Commonwealth  given 
under  our  hands  at  Said  Provincetown  this  seventh 
day  of  Jan.  Y.  1799. 

Stephen  Nickerson, 
Josiah  Nickerson, 
Selectmen. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  qualified  voters,  of  the  town 
of  Provincetown,  May  13th,  1799,  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  whether  the  town  would  take  care  of  Hannah 
Rider  or  not  voted,  that  she  should  not  be  supported 
by  the  town.     Voted,  to  petion  the  Gineral  Cort  to 


29 

let  them  know  the  Disturbance  likely  to  arize  concern- 
ing the  support  of  the  Methodis  poor.  Voted,  for 
Seth  Nickerson  to  go  with  the  petisson*and  be  paid 
for  Ins  expense  and  trouble. 

Mar.  4th,  1800.  Voted,  that  Ebenezear  Rider, 
keep  Hannah  Rider  for  forty-five  dolers  this  year,  i. 
the  selectmen  cannot  get  anybody  to  keep  her  for 
less. 


During  the  fall  of  1801,  small  pox  was  prevalent 
in  the  place  and  the  following  precautions  were 
voted  for  at  a  special  town  meeting,  called  Dec.  28ti  , 
1801: 

Voted  that  any  person  who  is  the  head  of  any 
family,  who  shall  permit  to  the  number  of  six  pei- 
sons  ibo  meet  together  at  his  house  for  frolicking,  oi 
any  unnescery  purposes,  shall  pay  to  the  use  of  the 
town,  a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  Dollors.  Voted 
that  the  houses,  together  with  the  hin  houses,  have 
a  watch  set  also  that  a  Smoke  house  be  built.  Voted, 
that  all  Dogs  and  Cats  be  Ciled,  also  that  all  hog- 
and  Sheep  riming  at  large  out  of  the  oners  inclosurc. 
shall  be  Ciled  and  the  oners  shall  pay  fifty  Dollor  • 
Dec.  28th,  1801. 

Feb.  25th,  1792.  Isaac  Mayo  gave  his  afformation 
to  use  his  best  indever  to  preform  the  office  of  aCon- 
stable  this   year,      Before    me, 

Samuel  Atwood,  Town  Clerk. 

Copy  of  an  old  Bill  of  Lad  inn  entered  upon   Tow. 
Records.     The  only  one  on  record: 
Provincetown,  Dec.  10th,  1790.     This  may  certify 


30 

all  whome  it  may  concern  that  I  the  Subscriber 
have  Survejl  the  following  articles  and  that  they  are 
put  in  good  and  lawful  order  and  that  they  was 
actuly  Shipt  on  Board  the  Schooner  Rover  Taler 
Smally  master  Bound  for  the  West  Indies. 

275  bbls  pikel  fish 

201  Quentels 
Which  in  order  By  me  for  Shipping  Nathanal  Hard- 
ing.    Sworn  before  me, 

Samuel  Atwood,  Town  Clark. 
Aug.  3,  1795. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of 
provincetown  warned  and  assembled.  Voted  to  rase 
36 £  to  pay  the  tax  bill  that  is  sent  here  which  is  one 
Shilling,  Eight  pence  per  pole.  Voted  that  any  that 
will  not  pay  the  Standing  minesters  Rate  Shall  have 
his  interest  Sesed.  Voted  that  there  Shall  not  Be  a 
a  Methodes  meetin-house  bilt  in  this  town. 

Solomon  Cook,  Moderator. 

Jan.  16th,  1792.  Voted  to  have  a  Singing- 
Scool  next  fall.  Voted  to  carry  brush  to  Shank 
painter  to  prevent  tides  coming  in. 

Jan.  28th,  1784.  Voted  to  buy  a  bible  for  the 
town  price  1£ — Is — 6d.  Voted  that  the  Selectmen 
have  a  Shilling.  Each  meeting-house  keeper  the 
price  of  4  bushels  of  corn. 

March,  5th,  1810.  Voted  that  guese  shall  not  go 
at  large  in  the  town  this  year. 

March,  4th,  1811.  Voted  to  Raise  by  a  tax  to 
defray  town  Charges  for  the  preasant  year  three  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  towns  Expenses  beside  the 
State  and  county  tax  and  no  part  Shall  go  to  pay 
any  minerster  whatsoever. 


31 

Provincetown,  March  11th,  1811.  Then  person- 
ally appeared  Simeon  Con  ant  and  took  oath  Required 
by  law  to  qualify  him  to  Share  as  a  Selectmen, 
Assesor  of  taxes,  Health  officer,  Surveyor  of  high- 
ways and  Oversearsof  poor  for  town  of  provincetown 
for  the  year  Ensuing  or  until  others  Shall  be  Sworn 
in  his  Stid. 

Before  me, 

Samuel  Cook,  Town  Clerk. 

Copy  of  protest  noted  before  the  Town  Clerk  by 
Joshua  Howard,  master  of  Sloop  Peggy,  1792 : 

Be  it  known  and  made  manefest  to  all  whom  it 
may  concern  that  on  the  28th  day  of  January,  at 
provincetown,  Cape  Cod,  in  the  county  of  Barnstable, 
State  of  Massachusetts,  came  and  disered  of  us  the 
Subscribers,  Selectmen  of  provincetown,  to  grant 
him  a  protest  which  we  have  done  as  far  as  the  law 
admits  upon  condition  he  maketh  oath  untoe  the 
town  clerk  of  Sed  town  and  the  Sed  town  clerk  to 
make  record  of  the  Same, — 

Joshua  Howard,  master  of  the  sloop  peggy,  Caleb 
Howard  and  Isaac  terrel,  Seamen  on  Board  the  Sed 
Sloop,  and  made  declaration  That  on  the  21st 
of  inst.  January  we  left  Cape  ami  the  wind  W.  N. 
W.  steered  closehauled  to  the  wind,  the  Proceeding 
day  Being  Janery  ye  22d,  made  the  Island  of  Monhi- 
gin  from  mast-head  Bearing  North  the  wind  N.  N.  W. 
Wore  ship  and  Stood  to  the  Westward  untell  the  23rd 
instant,  made  Cape  aim  and  stood  in  with  Thatcher's 
Island,  after  passing  the  wind  hauled  to  the  north- 
ward which  made  it  impossible  to  fetch  the  Eastern 
point  of  Cape  ann,  hove  about  but  could  not  fetch 


32 

the  Cape  aim  Wore  ship  and  stood  too  the  westward 

again  to  keep  smooth  water  untell  8  o'Clock  P.  M. 

Wore  again  and  Stood   to    the    E.    and    N.  24  hours, 

hen  wore  ship  to  the  westward  and  southward,  the 

wind  W.  N.  W.  and  N.  W.  then  wore  ship  and  Stood 

o  E.  and  W.  3  hours,  then    wore    ship  and  stood  in 

West  1  hour,  then  made  the  surf  but  beinsr  so  near 

r.he  Shore  had  not  room  to  ware  Ship  So  in  an  Instant 

was    in  the    Breakers    where    we   Struck  and    soon 

-rounded  Wherefore  I  do  protest   against  the  wind 

tnd  weather  and  seas  whereby  said  sloop  &  all  con- 

•erned  hath  or  may  suffer  any  loss  or  damage  this 

ione  &  protested  to  at  provincetown,  in  the  State  of 

Massachusetts  this  28th  of  Janury  A.  D.  1792  By 

Joshua  Howard  }  before  me 
Caleb  Howard     V  Samuel  at  wood 
Isaac  terrace       )  town  clerk. 

Another  protest  by  one  of  the  seamen  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibiUty  : 

I,  Caleb  Howard,  of  Broad  Bay  Waldbourgh  in 

lie  County  of  Lincoln  of   lawful  age  doth  declare 

ad  make  oath  that  he  had  his  Chist  Broke  open  on 

hursday  morning,  ye  2t3th  of  Janery  1792  by  per- 

:  on  or  persons  unknown,  but  judge  them  to  Be  peo- 

■  le  which  came  on  board  the  night  before,  Whilst  he 

;  nd  others  wass  coming  in  from  the  Backside  of  the 

( 'ape  in  Search  of  houses  the  Night  before  in   the 

loop  peggy  Capt.    Joshua   Howard  he  further  says 

he  Chest  he  left  on  the  Backside  was  Lockt  he  fur- 

her  Say th  not. 


33      . 

The  above  was  made  on  oath  before  me, 

Samuel  at  wood,  Town  Clerk. 
Janury  30th,  1792, 
In  presense  of 

RlCHD.    PARRY,     J 

Solomon  Cook,  >  Selectmen. 
Samuel  rider,   ) 

Form  of  advertisements  of  wrecked  goods  found 
and  recorded. 

Taken  up  by  Gershom  Cutter,  5th  of  January, 
1803,  at  a  place  called  wood  end,  upon  Cape  Cod,  in 
the  Reck  of  the  Schoon.  Washington  one  trunk,  one 
chest  fore  bags  contents  unknown  likewise  the  own- 
ers of  the  property. 

JOSIAH    NlCKERSON, 

Town  Clerk. 

When  up  by  amberous  Dyer  of  provincetown, 
5th  of  January  1803,  near  Race  point,  on  Ca^>e  Cod, 
sixteen  barrels  of  flower,  two  chests,  one  hammock, 
two  blankets  and  one  bedd  advertised  the  same  ac- 
cording to  law. 

JOSIAH    NeCKERSON, 

Town  Clerk. 
The  Embargo  bearing  heavy  on  the  Citizens  of 
the  place,  a  town  meeting  was  held  to  devise  some 
means  to  lift  the  burden,  the  meeting  was  called 
Aug.  22nd.  1808,  when  it  was  "Voted  unanamously 
to  petition  the  President  of  the  United  States  re- 
spectfully to  suspend  the  Embargo  either  wholly  or 
in  part  according  to  the  powers  vested  in  him  by 
Congress,  or  if  any  doubts    should  exist  as  to  the 


u 

sufficency  of  those  powers  that  he  be  requested  to 
call  congress  together  as  soon  as  possible. 

Voted,  to  have  a  Committee  of  five  chosen  to 
draft  the  petition  accordingly  &  send  it  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  U.  S. 

Voted,  that  the  Selectmen  together  with  Capt. 
Solomon  Cook  &  Mr.  Daniel  Pease  be  the  commit- 
tee to  carry  into  effect  the  votes  of  said  Town 
Meeting." 

A  Copy  of  the  Petition  draivn  and  presented: 

"To  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Provincetown  in  legal 
town  meeting  assembled  beg  leave  to  respectfully 
represent : 

That  they  have  severely  suffered  from  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  laying  and  enforcing  an  embargo  on 
all  ships  and  vessels  in  the  ports  and  harbours  of  the 
United  States  not  only  in  common  with  their  fellow- 
citizens  throughout  the  union  but  particularly  from 
their  local  &  peculiar  situation  their  interest  being 
almost  totally  in  Fish  and  vessels.  The  perishable 
nature  of  the  fish  and  the  sale  of  it  depending 
solely  upon  a  forren  market  together  with  the  bar- 
renness of  their  soil  not  admitting  of  cultivation 
bearing  them  no  resource  but  the  fisheries.  They 
flatter  themselves  that  they  are  &  ever  will  be  ready 
to  manefest  their  patriotism  in  making  every 
nesesary  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  their  Country  and 
to  these  laws  they  have  yeilded  unlimited  respect 
and  submission  not  a  single  instance  of  an  evasion 
or  violation  has  taken  place  among  them  but  so  dis- 
tressing are  the   embarrassments   produced  by  the 


35 

Embargo  that  they  cannot  contemplate  its  continu- 
ance without  serious  and  alarming  apprehentions. 
Jt  is  needless  to  detail  to  your  Excellency  the  vari- 
ous evils  that  must  result  from  a  total  suspension  of 
their  business  having  long  been  habituated  to  a 
maritime  employment  &  whose  resources  have  solely 
depended  upon  the  Ocean  whose  shipping  and  fish 
thus  left  to  waste  and  perish  on  their  hands  not  only 
to  the  loss  of  their  property  but  in  some  instances 
of  health  and  life.  Feeling  as  your  petitioners  do 
the  accumalating  pressure  of  these  Evils  and  Confi- 
dent that  your  Excellency  is  disposed  so  far  as  you 
are  constitianally  authorized  to  grant  them  relief  they 
are  happy  to  find  that  by  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  it  appears  to  be  within  your  power  to  Suspend 
the  Embargo  in  whole  or  in  part  whenever  Events  in 
Europe  may  in  your  opinion  render  it  safe  and  Expe- 
dient Your  petitioners  regoise  in  the  beleif  and  trust 
that  Such  Events  have  now  taken  place.  They  there- 
fore pray  that  the  Embargo  in  Whole  or  in  part  may 
be  suspended  according  to  the  powers  vested  in  the 
presedent  by  the  Congress  of  the  U.  S.  And  if  any 
doubts  Should  Exist  of  the  competency  of  those 
powers  they  would  humbly  request  that  Congress 
might  be  convened  as  early  as  possible  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  the  Subject  into  Consideration. 

A  true  Copy  of  Said  petition. 
Attest  Orasmus 

Thomas,  Town  Clerk. 

A  few  items  from  Treasurer's  account  book,  which 
is  headed  with  these  lines  :  "This  book  belongs  to 
the  precint  of  Cap  Cod  for  ye  Treasuarys  acompts 


GO 

O 


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gc 

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GC 

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0> 


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CJC 

■— 

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5h 

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38 

1724."  The  first  entry  in  the  book  is  dated: 

April  24th,  1724.  To  Cash  paid  Mr.  Samuel  Spear 
for  part  his  Sailery  10  Shillings.'!  Paid  for  this  book 
for  ye  precits  acompts  0£ — 10s — 6d. 

Jan.  12th,  1736.  V/2  pint  licker  OX  —  2s  -  Od 
corn  and  molasses  by  Done  0£ —  lis — 6d. 

April  13th,  1734.  fore  curing  the  School-masters 
Wife  3  pounds. 

In  the  year  1738  on  May  2nd,  the  following  trans- 
action was  recorded. 

Ye  town  of  Ephrim  Done  former  Trasyer  to  blong 
4<£ — 15s — 7d.  Mr.  Sper  ordered  me  to  tack  out  of 
my  rate  he  od  me  2£ —  6s —  Od  making  1£ —  Is —  7d. 


AN    OLD    DOCUMENT. 

Mention  is  made  in  the  chapter  of  Historical  facts 

of  the  boundary  line  between  Truro  and  the  Province 

lands.     The    following  is    a    Copy  of    the  original 

document  presented  by  the  committee  appointed  to 

define  the  boundary  line. 

In  Council  Octo.  25th,  1714.  The  report  of  the 
Committe  for  runing  ye  line  between  Truro  and  ye 
province  lands  at  Cape  Codd  Viz. — pursuant  to  an 
order  of  the  Great  and  General  Court  or  assises  begun 
and  held  at  Boston  the  26th  of  May,  1714.  We  the 
Subscribers  being  appointed  a  Committe  have  made 
Enquiery  for  the  true  bounds  or  line  of  division 
between  the  lands  belonging  to  the  proprietors  of 
ye  town  of  Truro  and  the    province    land  at  Cap 


39 

Codd  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  Selectmen  of 
said  Truro  have  fixed  and  settled  the  said  line  as 
followeth  Viz.  Begining  at  the  Easterly  end  of  a 
cliff  near  the  cape  harbor  called  by  the  indians 
Kexconeoqet  and  by  the  English  Cormorant  hill  at 
a  Jaw  bone  of  a  Whale  set  in  the  ground  There  by 
the  side  of  a  Red  oak  Stump  &  thence  Running  by 
&  marked  ranged  Trees  near  on  a  north  and  by 
west  line  about  half  a  point  more  westerly  to  a  mark- 
ed pine  Tree  standing  by  a  reedy  pond  called  by  the 
indians  Woooknotchsqisset  &  from  thence  by  marked 
range  of  Frees  to  a  high  hill  on  the  backside  near 
the  north  sea  with  a  red  ceder  post  set  in  the  said 
hill  and  thence  to  run  in  the  same  line  to  the  sea  and 
riming  back  on  the  contrary  line  to  the  harbour. 
Thomas  Paine  Esq.  &  Zedekiah  Lumbert  agents  for 
said  proprietors  were  present  and  Consenting  Thereto 
as  witness  our  hands  here  to  set.  The  24th  day  of 
Sepr. —  anno  Dom.  1714 — Thomas  Mulford,  Thos. 
Paine,  Joseph  Doane,  John  Otis,  Hez.  Purrington, 
Zed.  Lumbert,  Saml.  Knowls,  Will  Basset.  Read  & 
accepted,  concurd  by  the  Representatives. 

Concented  to  by  J.  Dudly.  a  True 
copy  taken  by  me  Solo.  Freeman. 

[Having  carefully  gone  over  the  ranges  as  laid 
down  in  this  old  document,  and  with  the  help  of 
some  of  the  older  citizens  with  their  traditions,  I 
have  been  enabled  to  fix  very  definitely  this  old 
boundary  line.  The  hill  called  Kexconeoqet,  is  the 
hill  on  which  is  now  standing  the  houses  of  Capt. 
Daniel  Kemp,  Henry  J.   Lewis,  George  Lewis  and 


40 

Daniel  F.  Lewis.  Running  on  the  course  given 
brings  you  to  the  pond  called  Woooknotchsqisset, 
which  is  now  called  Farm  pond.  This  pond,  undoubt- 
ly,  has  been  filled  in  a  great  deal  by  time,  and  by 
the  people  making  meadow  and  cranberry  bog.  The 
high  Hill  is  now  known  as  Oak  Head,  and  the  north 
sea  is  the  depression  between  that  and  the  beach. 
Undoubted  evidenca,  both  by  the  configuration  of 
the  land  and  the  abundance  of  water-washed  stone, 
as  well  as  the  testimony  of  the  older  people,  prove 
that  at  one  time  there  was  a  large  body  of  water 
there,  and  at  a  no  very  distant  day.  The  closing  line 
uto  the  sea"  must  mean  the  ocean  proper.  If  any 
one  should  think  that  the  line  runs  too  far  to  the 
eastward  I  would  call  their  attention  to  the  fact  that 
at  that  time  there  was  very  little  variation  of  the 
compass,  if  any,  while  at  present,  according  to  the  last 
surveys,  there  is  over  a  point  westerly. —  (Author.) 


SCHOOLS. 

In  the  year  1828,  the  town  was  set  off  into  six 
school-districts,  six  houses  were  built ;  two,  of  which 
are  still  standing  to-dav.  District  No.  1  is  the  house 
now  occupied  by  the  Peach  family  at  the  eastern  end 
of  the  town,  near  Fire  Engine  house  No..  1.  The 
second  building,  district  No.  2.  was  remodeled  and 
stands  on  the  corner  of  Con  well  and  Bradford  street, 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Tempa  Winn.  These  are  all  that 
remain  to-day.  The  building  used  at  present  by 
Mr.  John  D.  Hilliard,  for  putting  up  prepared  cod 
fish,  was  used  as  a  school-building  during  the  time 
the  school-house  in  district  No.  2.  was  being  built. 
District  No.  3  School-house  was  built  on  the  corner 
of  Winslow  and  Bradford  Streets,  at  the  foot  of 
Town  Hill,  on  the  South-east  side.  District  No.  4 
was  at  the  corner  of  Prince  and  Cudworth  streets. 
District  No.  5  was  located  on  Cross  street,  just  in  the 
rear  of  the  dwelling-house  owned  by  Captain  M.  J. 
Cavanagh.  District  No.  6  was  on  Commercial 
Street,  a  short  distance  to  the  Westward  of  what  is 
now  called  West  Vine  Street,  and  near  the  spot 
where  William  Newcomb's  house  now  stands.     Each 


42 

district  had  a  prudential  committee  of  one,  appointed 
to  take  care  and  charge  of  the  school-house,  provide 
the  fuel  for  fires,  and  all  other  things  needed.  It  was 
also  his  duty  to  call  the  district  together  to  nomi- 
nate a  school-master  for  the  winter.  Usually,  the 
one  chosen  was  the  man  that  had  made  the  poorest 
season's  work  fishing.  Prior  to  1828,  their  had  been 
private  schools  taught  in  several  places,  but  no  re- 
cords of  the  same  have  been  kept.  The  location  of 
the  places  where  they  were  held,  cannot  be  definite- 
ly fixed  on  account  of  the  contradictory  traditional 
statements.  One  old  school-building,  however,  can 
be  pointed  out.  The  building  owned  by  Charles  B. 
Snow,  known  as  Snow's  Block  on  Bradford  Street, 
was  used  at  one  time  for  school  purposes,  and  called 
by  the  dignified  title  of  Seminary.  Old  records  also 
state,  that  there  was  at  one  time  thirteen  families  at 
Race  Point,  and  a  school-house  was  built  for  their 
use.  The  sum  of  fifty  dollars  was  appropriated  by 
the  town  for  the  support  of  that  school  each  year.  On 
February  9th,  1846,  it  was  voted  to  build  a  school- 
house  on  Long  Point,  some  forty  families  residing 
there.  This  building  was  one  of  the  last  to  be  re 
moved,  and  now  stands  on  Commercial  Street,  near 
the  Post  Office.  Prior  to  1853,  there  was  a  High 
School,  where  only  English  branches  were  taught. 
This  school  was  held  in  several  different  places,  one 
of  which,    was   in   the    before-mentioned    Seminary 


43 

building.  When  the  Town  Hall  was  built,  on  High 
Pole  Hill,  in  1853,  the  High  School  was  then  per- 
manently established,  and  held  in  that  building,  un- 
til the  building  was  burned.  The  school,  then,  was 
kept  in  the  vestry  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
until  the  present  High  and  Grammar  School  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1880,  the  town  appropriating 
eight  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  land,  and 
the  erection  of  the  building.  In  this  school  the 
higher  branches  are  taught  in  connection  with  several 
of  the  foreign  languages. 


FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

Provincetown  has  long  been  noted  for  its  excel- 
lent and  efficient  Fire  Department,  and  with  the 
recent  additions  of  a  Steamer  and  Chemical  it  can  take 
precedence  over  many  more  wealthy  and  populous 
places.  Much  of  its  efficiency  is  due  to  the  board  of 
engineers,  and  its  Chief,  Mr.  John  D.  Hilliard,  who 
have  used  every  means  possible,  for  its  advancement 
and  welfare.  Always  prompt  at  the  first  alarm,  a 
friendly  and  wholesome  rivalry  keeps  up  the  Elan  of 
the  organization.  It  is  no  small  task  to  run  between 
two  and  three  miles  dragging  an  engine  and  then  be 
in  a  state  of  efficincy  to  do  duty,  but  such  has  been . 
repeatedly  the  case.  One  particular  case  will  show 
some  of  the  labors  performed  by  this  Department  : 

On  March  4th,  1875,  about  7.30  P.  M.,  a  severe 
snow-storm  was  raging,  and  the  streets  were  heavily 
blocked  with  snow.  An  alarm  of  fire  was  given, 
which  proved  to  be  from  a  building  known  as  Adams' 
Hall,  a  large  two-story,  wooden  building,  occupied 
on  the  lower  floor  as  a  clothing  store ;  the  second 
story  was  used  by  the  Catholics,  as  a  place  to  hold 
church  services.     Working  and  hauling  the  engine 


45 

THE  OLD  E\  ilXE.  WA.SHINUT.>X 


John  D.  Hilliard,  Geo.  S.  Cook,  James  Young,  Otis  Lovering,  Isaac 
Higgins,  Lemuel  Cook,  Nathl.  Aver-. 

through  snow-drifts  from  two  to  four  feet  deep,  some 
of  the  engines  being  nearly  a  mile  away,  yet  when 
they  arrived  and  were  placed,  were  worked  and  hand- 
led with  such  skill  that  the  walls  of  the  building  were 
saved,  after  the  roof  fell  in.  A  dwelling-house  sepa- 
rated from  the  burning  building  by  scarcely  two  feet, 
was  hardly  scorched.  The  wall  of  the  burned  build- 
ing stood  for  a  long  time,  a  monument  to  the  skill 
of  our  Firemen. 


46 

The  first  movement  towards  a  fire  department  was 
made  on  March  7th,  1*36,  when  at  a  town  meeting 
it  was  voted  to  buy  an  engine.  Mr.  Joseph  P. 
Johnson  was  appointed  to  make  the  purchase,  and 
the  old  Washington  was  built  at  the  Hunneman 
Works  in  Boston,  expressly  for  this  place,  and  after 
forty  years  of  service  is  still  in  good  working  order, 
though  retired  from  active  service,  and  given  a  place 
in  the  basement  of  the  Town  Hall. 

On  Nov.  14th,  the  same  }'ear,  the  town  voted  to 
buy  thirty  second-hand  leather  buckets,  one  hundred 
feet  of  leading  hose,  also  other  necessary  fixtures.  In 
1850  another  engine  was  bought  and  called  the 
Franklin,  which  is  in  active  service  to-day  under  the 
name  of  Tiger  No.  5,  it  is  manned  by  boys  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen  vears,  who  receive  their  fire 
education  and  then  enter  the  other  companies.  The 
lads  take  great  pride  in  their  machine,  and  at  an 
alarm  of  fire  strive  hard  to  get  ahead  of  the  older 
companies. 

In  May,  1859,  the  Board  of  Engineers  was  formed 
with  the  late  E.  G.  Loring  as  Chief,  followed  by  Eben 
S.  Smith,  who  was  succeeded  by  the  present  incum- 
bent, Mr.  John  D.  Hilliard,  who  became  a  member 
of  the  board  in  1866.  The  present  board  consists  of 
five  members  including  the  Chief,  who  received  his 
appointment  as  Chief  in  1870.  Clerk,  Lysander  N# 
Paine,    appointed  1869,    George    O.    Knowles  1877, 


Chief  Engineer, 
John  I).  Halliard. 


Clerk, 
Lysander  N.  Paine. 
John  G.  AVhitcomb. 

BOARD  OF  ENGINEERS   P.   F.    D. 


Geo.  O.  Knowles. 
Ceo.  H.  Holmes. 


i  +8 

t 

John  G.  Whitcomb  1877,  George  H.  Holmes  1883. 
The  board  hold  monthly  meetings  in  their  rooms  in 
the  Town  Hall. 

The  date  of  the  addition  of  the  rest  of  the  appa- 
ratus is  as  follows: 

Rescue  Hook  and  Ladder  Truck,  June  3d,  1859. 
Mazeppa  Engine,  No.  3,  Oct.  12th,  1868. 
Excelsior  Engine,  No.  4,  Oct.  12th,  1868. 
Ulysses  Engine,  No.  1,  July  14.  1869. 
Franklin  Engine,  No.  2,  August  22d,  1871. 
Excelsior  Chemical,  Oct.  17,  1889. 
Steamer  J.  D.  Hilliard,   Oct.  17,  1889. 

The  first  attempt  to  get  a  steam  fire-engine  was 
made  at  the  annual  town-meeting  in  February,  1867, 
when  the  town  voted  #11,000  to  buy  one  and  its 
appurtenances.  This  vote  was  rescinded  at  a  special 
meeting,  and  nothing  further  was  done  until  the 
annual  town-meeting  in  1889,  when  it  was  voted 
almost  unanimously  to  buy  a  Steamer  and  Chemical. 

During  the  debate  on  the  question  in  1869, 
one  strong-headed  old  fellow,  who  was  opposed  to  the 
purchase,  clinched  his  argument  with  the  remark  that 
he  believed  "cold  water  would  put  out  a  fire  as  wall 
as  biling  water,  and  there  would  be  no  danger  of 
scalding  the  people  around  the  fire."  There  is  an 
abundant  supply  of  water  at  high  tide,  and  the 
Steamer  can  put  an  effective  stream  from  the  wharves 


49 

to  the  most  remote  building,  back  from  the  Main 
street.  There  are  also  thirty  well  reservoirs,  twelve 
tubular  wells;  the  wells  furnish  a  sufficient  supply 
for  all  practical  purposes. 

The    officers  of  the  different  Companies,  January 
1st,  1890: 

Rescue  Hook  and  Ladder  Truck,  No.  1. 

Foreman  James  A.  Small 

Assistant  Joseph  A.  West 

Clerk  Andrew  T.  Williams 

Ulysses  Engine,  No.  1. 

Foreman  T.  Julian  Lewis 

1st  Assistant  James  S.  Dill 

2d  Assistant  Charles  S.  Bickers 

Clerk  Fred  W.  Daggett 

Franklin  Engine,  No.  2. 

Foreman  James  Burnett 

1st  Assistant  Fred  E.  Williams 

2d  Assistant  George  A.  Beatty 

Clerk  A.  P.  Hannum 

Steamer  J.  D.  Hilliard. 

Foreman  Joseph  W.  Cook 

Assistant  Charles  P.  Rogers 

Clerk  C.  Austin  Cook 

Engine  Man  Samuel  McDonald 

Assistant  Engine  Man  William  R.  Gayland 


50 

Stoker  Fred  F.  Cook 

Chemical  Excelsior,  No.  4. 
Foreman  Wallace  M.  Burch 

1st  Assistant  Frank  Burnett 

2d  Assistant  L.  A.  Smith 

Clerk  Stephen  A.  Chilcls 

Tiger  Engine,  No.  5. 
Foreman  Joshua  Paine,  Jr. 

1st  Assistant  Lemuel  N.  Swift 

2d  Assistant  Oren  Cobb 

Clerk  Eddie  M.  Law 

The  Companies  draw  pay  from  the  town  for  fifty 
members,  but  there  are  from  sixty  to  seventy  mem- 
bers enrolled  in  each  Company,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Hook  and  Ladder,  No.  1.  The  money  paid 
by  the  town  goes  into  the  general  fund,  and  is  spent 
as  the  company  votes. 

Connected  with  this  department  is  a  Mutual  Insur- 
ance Co.,  which  was  established  January  3d,  1878, 
to  which  all  firemen  are  eligible.  Upon  the  death 
of  a  member  an  assessment  of  fifty  cents  is  levied, 
which  is  kept  on  deposit  till  another  death  occurs. 
The  policy-holders  receive  the  amount  within  twenty- 
four  hours  of  the  death  of  a  member. 

The  membership  at  present  is  three  hundred  and 
twenty.  The  number  of  deaths  since  organized,  to 
January  1st,  1890,  have  been  sixty-three.  Amount 
paid  out  in  benefits  $9,683.50. 


51 


7t 


.    . 


j    »  i    ■ 


REBELLION  OF   1861  —  1865. 

When  the  first  call  was  made  for  men  to  put  clown 
the  rebellion,  some  of  the  Provincetown  boys  were 
the  first  to  enlist  and  quite  a  number  enrolled  as 
nine  months'  men.  All  through  those  dark  days 
they  could  be  found  at  their  posts,  never  shirking 
duty,  and  bravely,  whenever  called  upon  to  act, 
proudly  defended  their  country's  flag.  There  was 
hardly  a  battle  fought,  but  old  Cape  Cod,  if  not 
Provincetown  in  particular,  was  represented.  In  the 
navy,  also,  were  some  of  the  best  volunteer  officers, 
who  had  been  reared  on  board  her  fishing  fleets,  and 
Commodore  Farragut,  in  an  official  report,  makes 
special  mention  of  a  Provincetwn  boy. 

In  that  memorable  battle,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
James  River,  off  Newport  News,  between  the  Rebel 
ram  Merrimac  and  the  Union  fleet,  when  the  Com- 
berland  sank,  a  Provincetown  boy  went  down  in  her, 
fighting  his  gun  manfully  to  the  last.  His  name  was 
Josiah  C.  Freeman  and  to  his  memory  Post  G.  A.  R. 
have  named  their  Post  for  him. 

The  first  one  who  went  from  this  town  was  Edward 
Clark,  but  whose  commission  as  master's  mate  bears 


SOLDIERS'    MONUMENT. 


ERECTED  BY  THE  TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOW'N. 


T* 


53 

date  May  14th,  1861.  He  was  ordered  to  the  brig 
Bainbridge,  then  on  the  South  American  Station. 
The  first  to  go  in  the  army  was  George  E.  Crocker, 
who  was  mustered  into  service  in  the  29th  Regiment, 
Massachusetts  Volunteers,  May  18th,  1861.  He  was 
taken  sick  in  the  service  and  died  in  1863;  his  body 
was  brought  here  and  now  lies  beneath  the  shadow 
of  the  monument. 

This  town  furnished  for  the  war  three  hundred 
men,  which  was  fifty-seven  men  more  then  her  quota 
and  expended  in  money  #37,452. 

The  names  of  those  that  were  killed  or  died  from 
disease  in  the  line  of  duty,  are  as  follows : 

ARMY. 

Thomas  J.  Gibbons,  George  Lockwood,  Henry  A. 
Smith,  George  E.  Crocker,  Jeremiah  Bennett,  El- 
kanah  Smith,  Taylor  Small,  Jr.,  John  C.  Lurten, 
John  W.  Hobbins,  John  R.  Smith,  Solomon  R. 
Higgins,  Joseph  King. 

NAVY. 

Josiah  C.  Freeman,  Samuel  T.  Paine,  William  E. 
Tupper,  John  W.  Sraall,  William  C.  Chipman,  Asa 
A.  Franzen. 

There  had  been  an  Army  and  Navy  Association 
here  for  some  time,  but  a  charter  was  obtained  and 
the  J.  C.  Freeman  Post  55,  G.  A.  R.,  was  organized 
with  twenty   charter   members    on  September  23d, 


54 

1884.  Since  its  organization  up  to  January  1st, 
1890,  it  has  lost  but  three  members,  one  by  death, 
one  by  removal  to  another  state,  and  one  that  had 
formerly  been  in  the  navy  was  discharged. 

The  Post  has  a  well-furnished  room  in  the  Free- 
man Library  building,  and  holds  weekly  meetings. 
The  present  officers  of  the  Post  are : 


Commander 

S.  V.  c. 
J.  V.  c. 

Quarter  Master 

Adjutant 

Officer  of  the  Day 

Chaplain 

Surgeon 

Officer  of  the  Guard 

Q.  M.  Sergeant 

Sergeant  Major 

Delegate  to  Dep.  Con 

Alternate 


Joshua  Cook, 

J.  Harvev  Dearborn 

Freeman  A.  Smith 

Seth  Smith 

George  W.  Holbrook 

Charles  W.  Burkett 

Byley  Lyford 

Samuel  Knowles 

Thomas  Lowe 

Paron  C.  Young 

David  Cook 

H.  P.  Hushes 


George  W.  Holbrook 

The  Post  now  numbers  fifty  members,  whose 
record  as  copied  from  their  roster  is  as  follows : 

George  H.  Nickerson  was  born  in  Centerville, 
Massachusetts,  1835 ;  enlisted  as  private  in  Compa- 
ny E.,  forty-third  Reg.  Mass.  Voluntary  Infantry,  was 
promoted  to  a  Lieutenancy.  Discharged  at  the  ex- 
piration of  service,  July  30th,  1863.     Present  Resi- 


55 

deuce,  Provincetown ;  occupation,  photographer. 
George  Allen  was  born  in  Provincetown,  1844. 
entered  the  service  in  Company  I.  third  Mass.  Cav- 
alry, rose  to  the  rank  of  Sergeant  was  discharged ; 
September  28th,  1865;  at  the  expiration  of  service; 
present  residence,  Provincetown  ;  occupation,  lum- 
ber dealer. 

Joshua  Cook  born  in  Provincetown,  1843 ;  enter- 
ed the  United  States  Navy  as  master  mate  promoted 
to  Acting  Ensign.  Discharged  at  his  own  request. 
Residence,  Provincetown ;  occupation,  ship  car- 
penter. 

Freeman  A.  Smith  born  in  Provincetown,  1833  ; 
enlisted  as  private  in  Company  H.  fifty-fifth  Mass- 
Infantry.  Discharged  July  14th,  1865;  at  the  expi- 
ration of  service.  Residence,  Provincetown;  occu- 
pation, janitor. 

Alexander  Gayland  born  in  Bath,  North  Carolina, 
August  17th,  1828;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company 
I.  forty -seventh  Mass.  Infantry.  Discharged  Sep- 
tember 1st,  1863;  at  the  expiration  of  service.  Res- 
idence, Provincetown  ;  occupation,  machanic  and  con- 
tractor. 

J.  Harvey  Dearborn  born  in  South  Ware,  N.  H., 
March  15th,  1831 ;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company 
G.  16th  N.  H.  Infantry.  Discharged  August  20thi 
1863;    at    the    expiration    of    service.      Residence 


56 

Provincetown  ;  occupation,  paper  hanger  and  dealer 
in  periodicals. 

Seth  Smith  born  in  Baldwin,  Maine,  March  20th, 
1837  ;  entered  the  service  as  private  March  11th, 
1864;  in  the  sixteenth  Mass.  St.  Art.  attached  to  the 
twenty-second  Army  Corps,  was  at  the  defence  of 
Washington  during  the  three  days'  fight  with  the 
Rebel  General  Early  in  his  attack  upon  the  forts. 
Discharged  as  Corporal  June  27th,  1865;  at  the  ex- 
piration of  service.  Residence,  Provincetown ;  oc- 
cupation, town  clerk  and  treasurer. 

Raymond  Ellington  born  in  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
1841;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  A.  thirty-third 
Mass.  Infantry,  August  5th,  1862;  was  transferred 
to  the  third  Mass.  Cavahy,  promoted  to  Adjutant; 
resigned  February  5th,  1865.  Residence,  Province- 
town  ;  occupation,  depot  master,  Old  Colony  Rail- 
Road. 

William  H.  Hammond  born  in  Busselton,  Penn- 
sylvania, 1821 ;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  H. 
fifty -sixth  Mass.  Infantry.  Discharged  January  30th, 
1865  ;  for  disability.  Residence,  Provincetown  ;  oc- 
cupation, landscape  gardener,  and  is  a  pensioner. 

Paron  C.  Young  born  in  Provincetown,  1838 ;  en- 
tered service  as  private  in  Company  I,  3d  Mass.  Cav- 
alry June  4th,  1864.  Was  present  during  the  "  Wil- 
derness" fight,  and  was  shot  through  the  throat  by  a 
minie-ball,  at  the  battle  of   Cedar  Creek,  Virginia ; 


57 

was  discharged  on  account  of  wound,  July  2nd,  1865, 
Residence,  Provincetown  ;  occupation,  postmaster, 
and  is  a  pensioner. 

Nathan  S.  Hudson  born  in  Provincetown,  1837; 
entered  the  service  as  private  in  Company  H.,  fifty- 
sixth  Mass.  Infantry,  June  4th,  1864.  •  Discharged 
May  18th,  1865,  for  disability.  Residence,  Prov- 
incetown ;  occupation,  laborer,  and  is  a  pensioner. 

Charles  W.  Burkett  born  in  Provincetown,  1844; 
enlisted  as  private  in  Company  H.  fifty-sixth  Mass. 
Infantry.  Discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate  of 
disability,  June  15th,  1865.  Residence,  Province 
town  ;  occupation,  mechanic  and  dealer  in  pumps. 

John  Connelly  born  in  Galway,  Ireland,  1820 ; 
enlisted  in  the  army,  was  assigned  to  Company  C, 
twenty-second  Mass.  Infantry ;  was  transferred  to 
the' Navy,  and  discharged  for  disability  September 
1st,  1865  :  is  an  invalid  pensioner.  Residence,  Prov- 
incetown. 

David  Cook  born  in  Provincetown,  1837  ;  enlisted 
as  private  in  Company  E,  furty-third  Mass.  Infantry, 
September  26th,  1862;  re-enlisted  in  Company  A. 
third  Mass.  Cavalry,  was  discharged  September  28th, 
1865,  at  the  expiration  of  service.  Residence, 
Provincetown  :  occupation,  book  agent. 

Joseph  P.  Bickers  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  1835 ;  en- 
listed September  8th,  1862  ;  Company  K.  fiftieth 
Reg.   Mass.  Infantry.      Discharged  at  expiration  of 


58 

service,  August  24th,  1863.  Time  of  service,  nine 
months.  Residence,  Provincetown ;  occupation, 
ship  joiner. 

Michael  A.  Parker  born  in  Provincetown  ;  entered 
the  service  as  private  in  Company  H.  fifty-sixth  Reg. 
Mass.  Infantry,  January  4th,  1864.  Discharged  May 
24th,  1865,  at  expiration  of  service.  Residence, 
Provincetown.;  occupation,  wood  sawyer,  and  is  a 
pensioner. 

Manuel  Williams  born  in  Pico,  Azor  Islands,  1821, 
entered  the  service  as  private  in  Company  H,  fifty- 
sixth  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry,  was  promoted  to  corpo- 
ral. Discharged  at  the  expiration  of  service.  Resi- 
dence, Provincetown ;  occupation,  fisherman. 

George  W.  Holbrook  born  in  East  Boston,  April; 
23d,  1844  ;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  C,  twenty- 
fifth  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry,  October  30,  1861  ;  promo- 
ted to  corporal.  Discharged  December  16th,  1863  ; 
re-enlisted  December  17th,  1863,  in  Company  A. 
Veterans,  promoted  to  sergeant,  was  mustered  out  at 
the  close  of  the  war  July  30th,  1865.  Residence, 
Provincetown ;  occupation,  passenger  conductor 
Old  Colony  Railroad. 

Charles  C.  Wyman  born  in  Manchester,  N.  H., 
1857;  entered  service  as  drummer  boy  of  Company 
K,  sixth  N.  H.  Infantry.  Discharged  July  15th,  1865, 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  Residence,  Provincetown  ; 
occupation,  section  boss  Old  Colony  Railroad. 


59 

James  R.  Atwood  born  in  Provincetown,  1846  ; 
entered  the  Navy  as  landsman  April  29th,  1861  ; 
was  on  board  the  Frigate  Congress  in  the  fight  with 
the  Rebel  Ram  Merrimac,  off  Newport  News,  when 
the  Congress  was  sunk.  Discharged  Februarv  1 8th, 
1863.  Residence,  Provincetown  ;  occupation,  mas- 
ter mariner. 

Nathaniel  W.  Freeman  born  in  Provincetown, 
1842;  entered  the  navy  February  12th,  1864;  as 
master's  mate,  served  till  May  17th,  1865  and  resign- 
ed.    Residence  Provincetown;  occupation,  mariner. 

Charles  H.  Marston  born  in  Barnstable,  1842  ;  en- 
tered the  service  as  private  in  Company  A,  third 
Mass.  Cavalry,  January  4th,  1864.  Discharged  Sep- 
tember 28th,  1865,  at  expiration  of  service.  Resi- 
dence, Provincetown  ;  occupation,  master  mariner ; 
employed  in  the  whaling  business. 

Reuben  W.  Rich  born  in  Provincetown,  1832;  en- 
tered the  service  as  private  in  Company  H,  fifty-sixth 
Mass.  Infantry,  February  17th,  1864.  Discharged 
July  21st,  1865;  expiration  of  service.  Residence, 
Provincetown ;  occupation,  mariner. 

Samuel  Knowles  born  in  Truro,  February  26th, 
1831 ;  mustered  into  service  July  27th,  1862,  in 
Company  A,  thirty-third  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry.  Dis- 
charged May  24th,  1863,  for  disability.  Residence, 
Provincetown  ;  occupation,  dealer  in  flour  and  grain, 
and  keeper  of  livery. 


60 

John  P.  Grozier  born  in  Truro,  1840  ;  entered  the 
service  September    20th,  1862,  as  private  in  Compa- 
ny E,  forty-third   Reg.  Mass.  Infantry.     Discharged 
at  expiration  of  service  July  30th,  1863.     Residence, 
Truro  ;  occupation,  farmer. 

William  W.  Smith  born  in  Barnstable,  182k  ;  en- 
tered the  service  as  private  in  Company  I,  forty- 
seventh  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry  ;  promoted  to  corporal. 
Discharged  September  1st,  1863,  at  expiration  of 
service.  Residence,  Provincetown ;  occupation, 
boat  builder. 

Byley  Lyford  born  in  Dover,  Me.,  August  1st, 
1832;  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  K,  thirty-fifth 
Reg.  Mass.  Infantry  August  1st,  1862  ;  was  at  the 
battle  of  South  Mountain,  September  14th,  1862;  at 
Anitetam  September  17th,  1862  ;  and  in  that  battle 
was  wounded  in  the  arm  by  a  bullet.  Discharged 
bv  reason  of  the  wound  December  7th,  1862.  Resi- 
dence,  Provincetown  ;    occupation,  house  carpenter. 

Philip  Freeman  born  in  Fayal,  Azorean  Islands, 
1846;  entered  the  service  as  private  in  Company  I, 
fifty-sixth  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry.  Discharged  at  ex- 
piration of  service,  May  29th,  1865.  Residence, 
Provincetown  ;  occupation,  seaman. 

Levi  B.  Kelley  born  in  South  Yarmouth,  1827  ;  en- 
tered service  as  pilot  in  the  United  States  Navy  No- 
vember 20th,  1864;  promoted  to  Acting  Ensign.  Dis- 
charged Septemberl6th,  1865,  at    expiration  of  ser- 


61 

vice.    Residence,  Provincetown  ;  occupation,  seaman. 

James  Cashmanborn  in  Liverpool,  England,  1825; 
enlisted  as  private  in  Company  I,  third  Mass.  Cav- 
alry January  5th,  1862.  Discharged  at  expiration  of 
service  September  28th,  1865.  Residence,  Province- 
town  ;  was  keeper  of  Race  Point  Light  for  fifteen 
years,  but  now  retired.  Received  a  gun-shot  wound 
at  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Va.,  and  receives  a  pen- 
sion. 

John  Rosenthal  born  in  Alsace,  under  the  French 
government  in  1833;  came  to  this  country  in  1853; 
enlisted  in  the  United  States  Army,  in  Baltimore,  in 
October  26, 1854  ;  was  assigned  to  the  5th  Reg.  Regu- 
lar Infantry,  was  sent  to  Texas  against  the  Comanche 
and  Lepreau  Indians;  in  1857  was  with  General 
Harney,  in  Florida,  engaged  against  the  Seminoles, 
under  Chief  Billy  Bowlegs.  In  the  fall  was  ordered 
to  Utah,  against  Brigham  Young  and  the  Mormons. 
In  1859,  with  General  Canby,  was  in  New  Mexico 
where  he  served  two  years  against  the  Navajo  Indi- 
ans. At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  was  in 
Texas  under  General  Sibley  ;  was  promoted  to  Ser- 
geant Major  of  the  Regiment;  In  1864  appointed  by 
the  Secetary  of  War,  Ordnance  Sergeant  in  the 
United  States  Army,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
batteries  at  Long  Point,  Provincetown  Harbor.  He 
remained  in  charge  of  the  batteries  twelve  years, 
when  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Selden,  New  Mexico, 


62 

where  he  was  stationed  for  two  years.  He  was  then 
sent  to  Standing  Rock  Agency,  Dakota,  and  served 
there  until  1885,  when  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Pre- 
ble, Me.;  here  he  served  for  three  months,  when 
for  long  and  faithful  service  in  the  United  States 
Army,  he  was  placed  on  the  retired  list  of  the  Army  ; 
when  in  Dakota,  he  helped  organize  the  first  G.  A. 
R.  Post  in  the  territory,  the  George  A.  Custer  Post, 
No.  1,  was  Inspector  General  of  the  department,  and 
aid  de  Camp  to  the  Department  Commander.  Resi- 
dence, Provincetown ;  occupation,  secretary  of  the 
Nickerson  Oil  Works  Co.,  at  Herring  Cove. 

Thomas  Lome  born  in  Charlestown,  Mass.,  1830 ; 
entered  the  service  as  private  in  Company  A,  thirty- 
third  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry,  July  20th,  1862,  was 
transferred  to  Company  I,  third  Mass.  Cavalry ;  pro- 
moted to  sergeant.  Discharged  at  the  close  of  the 
was  as  quarter-master  sergeant  May  20th,  1865.  Res- 
idence, Provincetown  ;  occupation,  keeper  of  Wood 
End  Lighthouse. 

Hezekiah  P.  Hughes  born  in  North  Truro,  1838 ; 
entered  the  service  as  private  July  28th,  1862  ;  was 
assigned  to  Company  A,  thirty-third  Reg.  Mass.  In- 
fantry ;  was  transferred  to  Company  I,  third  Cavalry  ; 
promoted  to  second  Lieutenant.  Discharged  at  ex- 
piration of  service  June  13th,  1865.  Residence, 
Provincetown  ;  occupation,  dry  goods  merchant. 
James    A.  Small  born  in    Truro,  Februay  14th, 


63 

1840 ;  enlisted  from  Truro  August  5th,  1862,  as  pri- 
vate, assigned  to  Company  A,  thirty-third  Reg. 
Mass.  Infantry ;  transferred  to  the  forty-first  Reg. 
Infantry ;  which  was  reorganized  as  third  Cavalry ; 
promoted  to  sergeant  major  of  Company  I ;  mustered 
out  of  service  at  Falls  Church,  Va.,  May  22nd,  1865. 
Residence,  Provincetown  ;  occupation,  grocer  and 
ship  chandler,  and  one  of  the  board  of    selectmen. 

George  O.  Brown  born  in  New  Hampshire,  1816  ; 
enlisted  as  private  in  Company  E,  thirty-first  Maine, 
Vol.,  September  19th,  1863.  Discharged  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  September  20th,  1865.  Residence, 
New  Bedford,  Mass.;  occupation,  employe  Old  Col- 
ony Railroad. 

N.  Frank  Lane  born  in  Wellfleet,  1842 ;  enlisted 
as  private  and  was  assigned  to  Company  D,  Frontier 
Cavalry,  December,  1864.  Discharged  July  16th, 
1865,  by  the  disbandment  of  Company.  Residence, 
Charlestown,  Mass. ;  occupation,  employed  in  the 
Navy  Yard  in  the  sail-making  department. 

Daniel  McCrillis  born  in  Boston  August  9th 
1845  ;  enlisted  in  1863  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
war,  as  private  ;  was  assigned  to  first  Mass.  Veteran 
Cavalry  Company  B.  Discharged  at  the  close  of 
the  war  ;  was  in  active  service  at  the  "  Wilderness  ' 
fight  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  under  Gen.  Sheri- 
dan till  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee,  and  the  close  of 
the  war.     Residence,  Wellfleet ;  occupation,  mariner. 


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65 

Albert  Taylor  born  in  Yarmouth,  Mass.,  1842 ; 
entered  the  service  February  23d,  1864,  in  Compa- 
ny G,  twenty-fourth  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry,  as  private  : 
was  wounded  in  the  right  arm,  at  Petersburg,  Va. 
Discharged  September  16th,  1865.  Residence, 
Yarmouth  ;  occupation,  laborer,  and  is  a  pensioner. 

Joseph  W.  Tuck  born  in  Boston,  September  8th, 
1824 ;  entered  the  United  States  Navy  as  sailing 
master,  commission  dated  August  14th,  1861 ;  was 
assigned  to  the  Colorado,  afterwards  transferred  to 
the  Commodore  McDonahueas  executive  officer  and 
subsequently  placed  in  charge  ;  was  present  at  both 
bombardments  of  Fort  Sumter  and  at  Stone  Inlet ; 
assisted  at  the  capture  of  the  blockade-runner  John 
C.  Calhoun,  alias  Cuba,  off  South  Pass,  Mississippi 
River,  and  was  put  on  board  as  Prize  Master,  brought 
the  prize  safely  in  ;  was  appointed  Harbor  Master, 
at  Port  Royal,  S.  C,  which  position  he  held  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  Discharged  Dec.  15th,  1865.  Res- 
idence, Provincetown ;  occupation,  retired. 

William  F.  Peirce  born  in  Sandwich,  1841  ;  enter- 
ed the  service  as  seaman  in  the  United  States  Navy 
August  17th,  1864.  Discharged  August  22d,  1865, 
by  orders  from  Washington.  Residence,  Buzzards 
Bay ;  occupation,  employe  Old  Colony  Railroad. 

Sumner  Bragdon  born  in  Boston,  January  8th, 
1839;  mustered  in  as  private  July  20th,  1862,  pro- 
moted to  sergeant.     Discharged  as  sergeant  of  Com- 


66 

pany  I,  third  Mass.  Cavalry,  at  the  close  of  the  war,. 
May  20th,  1865.  Residence,  Provincetown ;  occu- 
pation, mechanic. 

C.  E.  Stinclrfield  born  in  Brunswick,  Me.,  1841 ; 
mustered  into  service  in  Company  I,  eighth  Me.  Vol. 
September  7th,  1861  ;  mustered  out  at  the  expiration 
of  service  March  27th,  1866.  Residence,  Wellfleet ; 
occupation,  shoe-maker. 

Isaiah  Snow  born  in  Truro,  1838  ;  entered  the  ser- 
vice as  private  September  2nd,  1862 ;  was  assigned 
to  Company  E,  forty-third  Mass.  Infantry.  Dis- 
charged at  expiration  of  service  July  30th,  1863. 
Residence,  Truro  ;  occupation,  travelling  salesman. 

Daniel  Cole  born  in  Wellfleet,  Mass.,  March  26th, 
1844 ;  enlisted  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  November  1st, 
1864,  as  private;  was  assigned  to  the  twelfth  Reg 
111.  Infantry,  Company  K,  fourth  division,  fifteenth 
Army  Corps;  was  discharged  at  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
July  10th,  1865.  Took  an  active  part  in  the  cam- 
paign in  Tennessee,  under  General  Thomas ;  was 
sent  to  Morehead  City,  N.  C,  actively  engaged  at 
the  battle  of  Kingston,  had  gun  shot  out  of  his  hand 
and  equipments  shot  away,  but  not  wounded.  Sent 
to  Gouldsboro,  N.  C,  March  23d,  1865 ;  remained 
with  regiment  until  discharged ;  was  present  at  the 
general  review  of  troops  at  the  close  of  the 
war  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Residence,  Wellfleet ; 
occupation,    keeper    of    Cahoon's    Hollow    United 


67 

States  Life  Saving  Station. 

E.  C.  Peck  born  in  Groton,  Vermont,  May  29th, 
1840  ;  entered  the  service  as  private  in  Company  K, 
third  Vermont  Infantry,  June  20th,  1861  ;  was  pro- 
moted to  a  first  Lieutenancy,  thence  to  Captain  of 
the  Company.  Discharged  for  disability  brought  on 
in  the  line  of  duty  January  19th,  1862.  Residence, 
Provincetown  ;  occupation,  physician  and  surgeon. 

Charles  G.  Thompson  born  in  Waternich,  Sweden, 
1829  ;  entered  the  service  December  24th,  1863,  in 
Company  H,  fifty-sixth  Reg.  Mass.  Infantry.  Dis- 
charged at  expiration  of  service  June  9th,  1865. 
Residence,  Portland,  Me. ;  occupation,  seaman. 

John  Connelly  born  in  Castle,  Bellingham  County, 
South  Ireland,  1836 ;  enlisted  from  this  town  and 
was  mustered  into  service  January  5th,  1864 ; 
assigned  to  Company  B,  third  Mass.  Cavalry ;  pro- 
moted to  corporal,  and  was  mustered  out  at  expira- 
tion of  service  September  26th,  1865.  Died  Novem- 
ber 23d,  1887,  from  lung  disease,  contracted  while 
in  the  line  of  duty  from  exposure.  Aged  fifty-one 
years,  leaving  a  widow,  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Thomas  V.  Mullins  born  in  Halifax,  N.  S.,  August 
11th,  1835,  came  here  a  mere  lad  and  apprenticed 
himself  to  the  blacksmith's  trade ;  enlisted  Decern- 


68 

ber  25th,  1863,  in  Company  H,  fifty-sixth  Reg. 
Mass.  Vol.  Infantry,  as  private.  Discharged  as  cor- 
poral July  1,  1865 ;  at  expiration  of  service,  was 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  until  the  surrender 
of  Lee.  Present  residence,  Race  Point,  and  keeper 
of  the  Light  at  that  place. 


Note. — The  Thirty-third  Mass.  Infantry  was  the  regiment  to  which 
quite  a  number  of  Provincetown  boys  were  assigned  upon  enlistment ; 
this  regiment  was  made  the  Forty-first  Infantry,  and  later  on  in  the  ser- 
vice was  organized  into  the  Third  Cavalry. 

Note. — Since  the  manuscript  has  been  finished  up  for  the  printer,  past 
Commander  of  the  Post,  Lieutenant  George  H.  Nickerson  has  passed 
away  to  join  his  comrades.  He  died  April  11th.  1890,  of  heart  disease, 
leaving  a  widow  and  a  little  adopted  daughter.  The  Post,  in  his  death, 
also  lose  one  that  had  done  much  for  the  success  of  that  organization. 


RECORD     OF    PROVLNCETOWN     BOYS     NOT     MEMBERS 

OF   THIS    POST. 

Parron  C.  Paine  enlisted  in  April,  1861,  in  the 
1st  Reg.  Mass.  Vols. ;  commissioned  May  22cl,  1861 ; 
mustered  into  service  June  15th,  1861.  It  was  the 
first  three  years  Volunteer  Regiment  that  reached 
Washington  after  passing  through  Baltimore  on  the 
ever  memorable  17th  of  June,  when  the  attack  on 
the  Northern  troops  was  made,  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  It  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  May  26th,  1864.  Mr.  Paine's  residence  is  in 
Boston,  and  he  holds  a  position  in  the  Post  Office 
Department. 


69 

John  E.  Smith  enlisted  in  Provineetown  January 

2nd,  1864;  was  assigned  to  Company  H,  fifty-sixth 
Mass.  Vol.  Reo-.,  Col.  Charles  E.  Griswold.  Dis- 
charged  at  Readville,  Mass.,  July  22d,  1865.  This 
Regiment  took  an  active  part  in  the  hard-fought 
battles  of  tlie  "Wilderness''  from  May  6th,  to  June 
17th.  In  August  he  was  taken  sick  and  sent  to  the 
hospital,  at  City  Point,  Va.,  from  thence 
to  New  York.  When  he  got  well  he  returned 
to  his  Regiment  at  Fort  Hayes,  in  front  of 
Petersburg!!,  Va.  At  the  opening  of  the  spring 
campaign  April  2d,  lb65,  he  followed  up 
Lee's  army  until  the  surrender  on  the  9th,  after 
which,  he  was  detailed  as  Clerk,  at  Regimental 
Head  Quarters.  There  is  certainly  a  mistake  in  the 
State  Records  of  Mass.  Vol.  Soldiers,  fur  the  records 
say  that  he  died  of  wounds,  in  a  Philadelphia  Hospi- 
tal ;  when  at  present,  he  is  alive  and  well  at  Borden- 
town,  N.  J.  ;  engaged  in  the  photograph  business. 

Rawlins  T.  Atkins  born  in  Provineetown ;  he  en- 
listed as  private  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  was 

assigned  to  the  Mass.  first  Reg.  Vol.,  was  discharged 
as  sergeant.  He  received  a  commission  as  second 
Lieutenant  November  21st,  1863,  and  recruited  a  com- 
pany here  which  was  attached  to  the  fifty-sixth  Reg. 
Mass.  Vol.  ;  was  promoted  to  first  Lieutenant  Jan- 
uary 21st,  1804,  and  discharged  February  17th, 
1865,  for  disability.  He  at  present  is  in  the  Soldiers' 
Home,  at  Togus,  Maine. 


WRECK    OF    THE    ENGLISH    FRIGATE 

SOMERSET. 

About  one  mile  westward  from  the  Peaked  Hill 
Life  Saving  Station,  buried  beneath  the  sands,  lies 
the  wreck  of  the  English  Frigate  Somerset.  A  stone 
bound-mark  has  been  placed  near  the  spot,  but  the 
wreck  lies  buried  some  twenty  feet  in  the  sand. 
This  vessel  has  a  history  intimately  connected  with 
Provincetown.  Authentic  records  give  the  informa- 
tion that  she  was  a  third  rate  frigate,  built  in  Chatham 
dock-yards,  England,  and  launched  July  18th,  1748, 
and  carried  sixty-four  guns,  thirty-two,  eighteen,  and 
twelve  pounders.  In  1774  she  left  England  for  the 
North  American  Station,  returning  to  London  in  1776* 
Left  England  again  in  1777  to  take  an  active  part  in 
the  war  of  the  Revolution ;  was  present  at  the  bom- 
bardment of  Charlestown,  being  stationed  the  third 
ship  up  the  river  in  the  line,  and  covered  the  landing 
of  the  British  troops,  when  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
was  fought.  The  poet  Longfellow  mentions  the  fact 
in  one  of  bis  poems.  Commanded  by  the  notorious 
Capt.  Bellamy,  who  took  every  means  to  annoy  the 
people  of    the   defenceless   coast,   she   often    made 


71 

a  rendezvous  in  Provincetown  harbor  and  levied  on 
the  people  for  supplies,  and  instead  of  paying 
for  the  same  in  money,  would  allow  his  chap- 
lain to  come  ashore  Sundays  and  preach  to 
the  people,  giving  that  as  an  equivalent  for  the  eggs, 
butter  and  fish  taken  from  the  citizens  Such  was 
the  dread  of  seeing  the  vessel  that  mothers  would 
tell  their  refractory  children  that  the  frigate  would 
carry  them  off  if  they  did  not  mind  their  parents. 
Such  threats  would  cause  the  most  incorrigible  to 
mind.  The  people  here  were  entirely  unprotected 
during  the  Revolution,  and  the  English  held  complete 
sway  over  the  place.  At  length,  one  day  the  citizens 
saw  the  frigate,  which  had  been  absent  for  some  time, 
returning,  chased  by  some  French  men-of-war.  The 
wind  was  blowing  heavy  from  the  north,  and  the 
Somerset  was  trying  to  make  this  port  for  safety. 
Being  unable  to  weather  Race  Point,  in  tacking  ship, 
she  miss-stayed  and  struck  on  the  outer  bar  ;  the 
French  vessels  seeing  her  ashore,  fired  a  few  shots  at 
her,  and  tacking  ship  stood  out  to  sea  and  safety. 
The  beach  was  soon  lined  with  the  citizens,  who 
tried  to  save  the  lives  of  her  crew,  with  all  the  means 
that  lay  in  their  power,  though  they  were  their 
enemies.  On  board  the  ship,  boats  were  launched, 
but  they  were  dashed  to  pieces  alongside,  and  those 
that  were  in  them  drowned.  Guns,  shot,  and  other 
heavy  articles  were    thrown    overboard,    her  masts, 


72 

that  had  been  broken  off  near  the  deck,  were  cut 
adrift,  and  finally,  at  high  water,  the  strained  and 
leaking  hulk  was  driven,  by  the  force  of  the  wind 
and  seas,  over  the  bar  and  up  on  the  shore,  where 
those  that  were  alive  of  her  crew,  were  rescued  by 
the  people,  and  held  as  prisoners  of  war.  Word 
was  sent  to  Truro  and  a  company  of  Militia  from 
that  place,  with  a  company  here,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Enoch  Hallett,  of  Yarmouth,  took 
the  prisoners  to  Barnstable,  and  thence  to  Boston, 
with  the  exception  of  one,  whose  history  will  be 
given  further  on.  Colonel  Abijah  Doane,  of  Well- 
fleet,  was  put  in  charge  of  the  wreck,  but  such  was 
the  feeling  among  the  people  on  account  of  the  treat- 
ment they  had  received,  that  almost  every  one  tried  to 
get  what  they  could  out  of  the  wreck,  to  partially  pay 
them  for  what  they  had  previously  been  paid  in  preach' 
ing  and  prayers,  that  the  laws  of  Meum  and  Tuum  were 
disregarded.  After  a  while  a  sheriff  was  appointed 
to  take  charge  and  what  material  was  saved  a  sal- 
vage was  paid  on.  What  few  guns  that  were  on 
board  were  landed  and  afterwards  used  in  some  of 
the  fortifications  along  the  coast.  Fire  was  set  to 
the  hull,  but  only  a  small  portion  of  the  upper-works 
and  deck  were  burned.  After  the  hulk  was  aban- 
doned by  the  authorities,  occasionally  a  beach-comb- 
er would  try  to  get  some  of  the  iron-work,  but  in 
most  cases  they  were  poorly    paid    for   their  labor. 


73 

As  the  years  rolled  by,  the  ever-shifting  sands  of  the 
Cape  buried  her  from  sight.  During  the  winter  of 
'85  and  '*6,  at  a  verv  high  course  of  tides  and  a  sue- 
cession  of  north-east  gales  prevailing,  the  beach  was 
so  cut  away  that  a  portion  of  the  charred  timbers 
and  planking  were  exposed.  For  upwards  of  fifty 
years  it  had  been  buried,  and  tradition  only  told 
somewhere  near  the  spot  of  the  wreck,  but  there 
could  be  no  mistake  as  to  its  identity  ;  those  heavy, 
massive  timbers  and  the  six-inch  planking  of  live 
oak  with  portions  charred  b}r  fire,  the  port-holes  and 
general  build  told  plainly  that  it  was  the  almost  for- 
gotten  wreck  of  the  Somerset,  that  had  been  lying 
there  for  over  a  century.  For  some  months  hund- 
reds of  people  visited  the  wreck  and  cartloads  of 
timber,  planking  and  iron  bolts,  more  or  less  corro- 
ded bv  time  and  salt  water,  were  taken  from  it  and 
brought  to  town  ;  transformed  into  canes,  vases,  mod- 
els of  vessels,  watch  charms,  etc.,  as  mementoes  of  the 
craft.  By  digging  the  sand  away  a  large  portion  of 
of  the  .hull  was  laid  bare.  Gunpowder  and  wedges 
tore  the  planking  and  timbers  apart,  but  work  could 
only  be  carried  on  at  low  water,  the  incoming  tide 
would  wash  in  the  sand,  and  all  the  digging  would 
have  to  be  done  over  again.  Finally,  the  beach  shore 
began  to  make  out  again,  and  soon  the  old  hulk  was 
buried  from  sight,  there  to  remain  till  the  ever-shifting 
sands   of  the  Cape,  perhaps  in  a  century  more,  dis- 


74 

close  her  again  ;  beach  grass  is  growing  over  her  and 
she  lays  some  distance  from  high  water  mark.    In  Pil- 
grim Hall,  Plymouth,  is  a  large  block  of  wood  which 
was  formerly  one  of  her  bitt  heads  ;  it  is  about  four- 
teen inches  square,  with  the  holes  where  the  main- 
stays went  through ;  it  is  clear  from  rot  and  almost 
as  hard  and  firm  as  iron.     A  citizen  of  this  place 
presented  it,  with  a  short  description  of  the  wreck, 
for  which  he  was  rewarded  by  a  diploma  from  the 
Pilgrim  Society.     The  date  of  her  wreck  was  Nov- 
ember 3d,  1778.     Parties  can  be  found  that  can  show 
the  exact  location  of  the  wreck  at  the  present  time 
to  visitors,  souveniers,  articles  of  various  shape  and 
form  made  from   the   wood,   can  be  found  in  almost 
every  store  in  the  place,  they  are  authentic  and  can 
be  had  at  very  reasonable  prices.     Mention  has  been 
made  of  one   of  her   crew,    that    was   not   taken  to 
Boston  with  the  rest  of  the  surviving  crew.     The 
ship's  surgeon,  Dr.  William  Thayer,  was  paroled  and 
stayed  here,  to  give  aid  to  the  people  ;  he  practiced 
both   here,    and    in    the    ajoining    town    of   Truro. 
In  one  of  his  visits  to  that  place,  lie  became  acquaint- 
ed with  one  Susan  Rich,  which  ripened  into  love  and 
they  were  married,  the  Doctor  taking  up  his  abode 
in  Truro.     To  this  couple  four  daughters  were  born, 
Anna,  who  married  Reuben  Rich,  Wellfleet ;  Phebe, 
who    married    Elisha    Newcomb,    of   Truro ;  Susan, 
who    married    Simon     Hopkins,     of    Wellfleet   and 


75 

Rachel,  who  was  never  married.  Of  the  three  first, 
there  are  direct  descendants  living  here  and  in  Truro 
to-day.  These  records  are  authentic,  having  been 
received  from  a  direct  descendant. 


REMAINS  OF  THE  SOMERSET  BY  MOONLIGHT. 


LONG     POINT. 

This  narrow  strip  of  sand  which  forms  the  extreme 
end  of  Cape  Cod  was  at  one  time  quite  thickly  set- 
tled, there  being  thirty-eight  families  residing  there 
permanently.  The  first  building  that  was  put  up 
there  was  built  by  John  Atwood,  and  occupied  No- 
vember, 1818.  Prince  Freeman,  Jr.,  built  the  second, 
and  Eldridge  Smith  the  third.  The  nearness  to  the 
fishing  grounds,  and  the  abundance  of  fish  that 
could  be  taken  from  the  shore  induced  many  families 
to  locate  there.  Prince  Freeman,  Jr.,  now  living, 
was  the  first  child  born  on  the  Point  ;  he  was  born 
November  7th,  1822. 

When  the  school-house  was  built  in  1846,  there 
were  sixty  scholars  attended,  and  the  inhabitants  num- 
bered over  two  hundred.  The  adult  population  were  - 
engaged  in  fishing,  and  the  manufacture  of  salt. 
Eldridge  Nickerson  built  the  first  set  of  works, 
which  comprised  about  three  thousand  feet ;  others 
were  built,  and  at  one  time  there  were  six  mills  for 
pumping  water  for  about  seven  or  eight  thousand  feejt 
of  works,  with  an  annual  out-put  of  between  five 
and  six  hundred  hogsheads  of  extra  quality  of  salt. 


C 


c 


n 


c 


H9 

c 


78 

Fishing  from  the  shore  was  carried  on  extensive- 
ly with  sweep  seines,    catching    plenty  of  mackerel 
and  shad ;  bass  also  were    taken  in  large  numbers. 
As  many  as  seventy-five  barrels  of  white  shad  have 
been  brought  ashore  there  at  one  haul ;  Mr.   John 
Atwood  caught  that  many,  three  years  in  succession, 
and  on  the  same    day    of    the  month.       These  fish 
brought  a  good  price,    selling    for    sixteen  dollars  a 
barrel  of  two  hundred    pounds;  the  seines  were  all 
knit  by  hand :  the  women,  for  the  most  part,  did  the 
knitting.     There  were  over  twenty  boats  engaged  in 
cod-fishing,  and  they  would  take  from  forty  to  sixty 
quintals  to  a   boat  during   the   spring  season  ;   there 
was  no  fresh  water  on  the  point,  plank  cisterns  were 
laid   and    afterwards  some    were    made  of    cement. 
During  along  protracted  drouth,  the  drinkable  water 
had  to  be  brought  from  the  town  in  barrels. 

The  first  school  that  was  kept  there,  was  kept  in 
the  lighthouse,  about  1830;  there  were  only  three 
children,  who  were  taught  by  Miss  Hannah  Sanborn, 
who  afterwards  married  Deacon  John  Dyer,  a  well- 
known  citizen,  who  was  a  mover  of  buildings,  and 
moved  about  all  of  the  buildings  from  the  Point 
over  to  the  town.  John  Atwood  built  a  wharf  on 
the  north  side  of  the  point,  which  is  standing  to-day, 
used  by  the  Cape  Cod  Oil  Works,  the  only  buildings 
now  left  excepting  the  lighthouse. 

About  the  year  1850,  some  families  moved  off,  and 


79 
each  year  increased  the  number  so  that  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Rebellion,  there  were  but  two  houses 
left,  besides  the  school-house,  which  was  also  used  as 
a  church,  preachers  from  the  town  coming  over  occa- 
sionally Sundays  and  holding  service. 

The  ruins  of  two  sand  batteries  that  were  put  up 
during  the  war  of  '61  —  '65  are  still  to  be  seen ;  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  were  stationed  there,  under  the 
charge  of  John  Rosenthal,  who  had  the  officers  head 
quarters  in  the  last  dwelling  heuse  left  on  the  Point. 
The  men  were  quartered  in  barracks  built  for  the 

occasion. 

Nearly  all  of  the  houses    were    moved  on  scows 

and  were  placed  at  the  western  end  of  the  town, 
near  what  is  now  called  Gull  Hill.  About  the  last 
building  was  the  school-house,  which  now  stands  on 
Commercial  Street,  a  few  doors  east  of  the  Post 
Office. 

Government  now  lays  claim  to  all  the  lands  on 
the  Point ;  some  attempts  have  been  made  by  those 
that  once  lived  there  to  get  pay  for  the  land  they 
left,  but  no  one  has  succedecl  as  yet.  No  industry 
is  carried  on  there  but  the  Cape  Cod  Oil  Works,  and 
no  fish  of  any  amount  have  been  taken  there  for 
many  years,  except  a  few  cod  off  Wood  End  Light- 
house. 


THE  WHALING  BUSINESS. 


INCIDENTS    AND   ANECDOTES   OF    THE    BUSINESS. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    WHALES 

AND    WHALING. 


The  whaling  business  of  this  place,  that  at  one 
time  was  second  in  importance  of  any  place  where 
the  business  was  carried  on,  has  fallen  off  so  that 
at  present  there  are  but  seven,  vessels  employed. 
In  the  early  settlement  of  the  place,  whaling  was 
carried  on  from  the  shore  by  boats.  Right  whales 
then  used  used  to  visit  this  harbor,  but  it  has  been 
many  years  since  one  was  taken  here.  As  the  whales 
became  scarce,  vessels  were  fitted  out,  and  the  indus- 
try grew  until  a  fleet  of  fifty-six  vessels,  —  barques, 
brigs,  and  schooners,  —  went  from  this  port.  The 
most  of  the  officers,  and  some  of  the  crew  were  cit- 
izens of  the  place.  The  sperm  whale  was  the  one 
most  sought  for,  on  account  of  its  oil  being  of  more 
value  than  any  other  specie.  The  spermaceti  whale, 
or  sperm,  as  they  are  called  by  whalemen,  are  the 
highest  type  of   the    cetacean.     Their  oil  is  of   the 


81 

finest  kind,  and  brings  the  highest  price  of  any  in 
the  market.  The  sperm  is  the  only  whale  having 
teeth,  and  those  are  only  in  the  lower  jaw ;  in  the 
upper  jaw  there  are  cavities,  into  which  the  teeth  fit 
snugly  when  the  jaw  is  closed.  These  teeth  are  fine 
ivory,  but  do  not  command  a  great  price  in  the  mar- 
ket only  as  curiosities,  for  they  will  discolor  with  age, 
which  unfits  them  for  use  in  any  of  the  arts  for 
which  ivory  is  employed.  The  habitat  of  this  specie 
of  whale,  in  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean,  is  on  the 
coast  of  Central  America,  the  borders  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  on  what  is  called  Hatterras  and  Charleston 
Grounds,  off  Cape  DeVerde  Islands  and  several  other 
places  in  the  North  Atlantic,  known  to  whale-men 
as  the  Cornell,  Twelve-forty,  etc.  The  principal 
food  of  this  whale  is  the  squid  or  cuttle  fish,  that 
are  plenty  in  the  warm  waters  of  these  grounds. 
The  yield  of  oil  in  a  full-grown  whale  will  be  about 
one  hundred  barrels  ;  from  one-third  to  one-half  will 
be  contained  in  the  head.  One  peculiarity  of  this 
specie  is  the  case,  so  called.  This  is  a  cavity  in  the 
head,  from  which  clear  oil  is  bailed  with  buckets, 
amounting  sometimes  to  twelve  or  fifteen  barrels. 
This  makes  the  best  of  oil,  and  only  requires  heating 
so  that  it  will  not  become  rancid.  The  junk,  which 
is  the  huge  cheeks  and  lips,  yield  oil  very  freely, 
and  as  they  are  part  of  the  head  are  counted  as  such. 
These  whales  are  not,  as  a  general  thing,  much  for 


82 

fighting,  seeking  safety  rather  in  flight,  but  occasion- 
ally a  lone  bull,  that  has  been  driven  out  of  the 
school  or  herd,  is  fallen  in  with,  and  his  ugly  disposi- 
tion, made  more  sour  and  morose  by  the  want  of 
companionship,  makes  him  an  ugly  customer  to  deal 
with,  often  charging  on  the  boat  and  crushing  it  like 
an  egg-shell  with  his  ponderous  jaw,  leaving  the 
whalemen  minus  boat  and  gear  and  lucky  if  they 
escape  with  their  lives. 

A  story  is  often  told,  by  old  whalemen,  of  a  whale 
of  this  kind,  who  was  well  known  by  old  veterans 
by  the  name  of  Moby  Dick,  who  made  his  home  and 
cruising  ground  off  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 
Nearly  every  New  Bedford  and  Nantucket  whaler 
had  had  an  encounter  with  him,  and  were  worsted  in 
the  battle,  Dick  always  coming  off  conqueror,  until 
as  last  no  one  cared  to  risk  an  engagement  with  him. 
When  the  explosive  bomb  lance  was  invented,  an 
old  Nantucket  skipper,  who  had  suffered  severely  in 
several  encounters  with  Dick,  swore  that  he  would 
have  revenge,  and  the  bomb  lance  was  just  the  thing 
to  do  it  with.  Accordingly,  laying  in  a  good  stock 
of  the  article,  sailed  on  his  voyage  to  the  Pacific. 
Arriving  at  Talcuhano,  Chili,  a  great  rendezvous  for 
whalers,  he  there  fell  in  with  some  of  his  old  chums, 
and  told  them  that  he  was  going  to  capture  Dick,  if 
he  did  not  get  another  whale.  His  comrades  laughed 
and  tried  to  dissuade  him,  but  the  old  veteran  was 


83 

not  to  be  bluffed.  Sailing,  he  soon  reached  the 
whaling-grounds,  and  for  a  long  time  cruised  with- 
out seeing  Dick,  and  he  began  to  fear  that  the  whale 
had  left  the  grounds  or  had  died,  and  he  would  lose 
his  revenge.  One  bright,  sunny  morning,  the  look- 
out at  the  mast-head  sung  out,  "There  she  blows ! ' 
"Where  away?  "Broad  on  the  lee  bow."  The  ship 
was  kept  off  before  the  wind,  and  run  down  towards 
the  whale,  when  it  was  soon  discovered  to  be  the 
long  sought  for  Moby  Dick.  The  boats  were  lowered, 
whale-guns  and  bomb  lances  were  placed  in  them, 
and  everything  made  ready  for  the  battle.  The 
whale  paid  no  attention  to  the  boats,  so  the  captain 
pulled  up  close  to  him,  and  instead  of  fastening  in 
the  usual  manner,  tired  a  bomb  lance  into  him.  This 
new  specie  of  warfare,  seemed  to  take  the  whale  by 
surprise,  as  it  was  something  new  to  him,  but  his 
aggressive  nature  asserted  itself,  and  he  charged  upon 
the  boat  with  his  usual  fury.  The  mate's  boat  com- 
ing to  the  rescue,  fired  another  shot,  which  took  his 
attention  from  the  captain,  and  the  mate  was  charged 
upon,  to  be  relieved  in  turn  by  the  captain.  This 
kind  of  warfare  was  kept  up,  and  when  seven  lances 
had  been  shot  into  him,  every  one  of  which  took 
effect,  he  rolled  fin  out,  —  dead.  Brought  alongside 
and  stripped  of  his  blubber,  but  a  small  quanity  of 
oil  was  made.  In  whalemen's  language,  he  was 
what  is  called  a  "  Dry    Skin."      Twenty-three  har- 


84 

poons  were  found  imbedded  in  his  flesh,  bearing  the 
names  of  eighteen  different  vessels,  showing  who 
had  been  in  engagements  with  him.  The  other  five 
were  so  corroded  by  time,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
decipher  the  marks  on'  them.  The  largest  whale  of 
this  specie  ever  known  to  be  taken,  was  by  the  bark 
Wave,  of  New  Bedford,  Capt  Briggs,  which  made  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  barrels,  fifteen  gallons  of 
oil.  Capt.  Wm.  Curran,  of  this  place,  took  one 
that  made  one  hundred  and  fifteen  barrels,  and  lost 
the  entire  head  and  junk  ;  had  all  been  saved  it  would 
doubtless  have  been  as  large,  if  not  larger,  than  the 
one  taken  by  the  Wave. 

AMBERGRIS. 

A  valuable  secretion  is  found  in  this  specie  of 
whale,  called  Ambergris.  This  is  found  in  hard 
bunches  in  the  whale's  intestines  ;  it  is  of  a  dark  choc- 
olate color,  and  in  most  cases  the  specific  gravity  is 
greater  than  water,  though  there  are  cases  where  it 
has  been  known  to  float.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
known  articles,  as  a  base  on  which  to  fix  perfumes, 
and  is  largely  used  in  France  for  that  purpose.  A 
good  article  is  worth  more  than  its  weight  in  gold, 
or  at  present  prices  about  two  hundred  dollars  a 
pound.  It  has  a  strong  pungent  odor,  but  by  no 
means  unpleasant.  Its  formation  is  not  fully  known, 
but  is  supposed  in  some  way  to  be  connected  with 
the  food   this  specie  eats.     The  short,  sharp  bills  of 


85 

the  squid  or  cuttle  fish  irritating  the  bowels,  causing 
this  fungus  growth.  It  is  most  frequently  found  in 
whales  caught  off  the  coast  of  Central  America, 
where  the  squid  are  of  small  size.  It  is  generally 
found  in  lumps  weighing  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds; 
occasionally,  though  the  cases  are  very  rare,  pieces 
have  been  found  weighing  as  much  as  one  hundred 
pounds. 

A  LOST  FORTUNE. 

Schooner  Monteguma,  of  this  place,  while  engaged 
in  sperm  whaling  on  the  Mosquito  Coast,  Central 
America,  killed  a  large  sperm  whale.  In  "cutting 
in  '"  the  whale,  the  spade  struck  a  hard  substance, 
which  upon  further  investigation  proved  to  be  a  large 
piece  of  ambergris,  somewhat  larger  than  a  quarter 
barrel,  and  judged  to  weigh  over  one  hundred  pounds. 
The  wind  was  blowing  heavy  at  the  time,  and  the 
sea  rough  ;  all  hands  were  excited  over  the  find  and 
due  precaution  was  not  taken  to  secure  it ;  in  haul- 
ing it  on  board  the  vessel  it  slipped  from  the  slings, 
and  falling  between  the  whale  and  vessel,  slowly 
sank  from  sight  in  sixty  fathoms  of  water.  At  the 
price  of  the  article  at  that  time,  the  crew  had  the 
mortification  of  seeing  over  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  sink  slowly  from  their  possession.  A  dead 
whale  drifted  ashore  on  one  of  the  West  India  Is- 
lands. A  negro  at  work  on  the  whale  found  a  small 
piece  ;  he  had  heard  of  ambergris  but  knew  nothing 


86 

of  its  real  value.  Saving  it,  lie  offered  it  for  sale  to 
a  trader,  who  generously  (?)  gave  him  a  suit  of  thin 
dungaree  clothes,  and  a  five-dollar  gold  piece,  the 
negro  congratulating  himself  on  his  lucky  find. 
The  trader,  when  he  returned  to  the  states,  realized 
the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  on  his  bargain. 


A  FIN-BACK  WHALE. 

The  whale  shown  above  was  one  of  the  largest  of 
the  Finback  species  ever  taken  here.  It  was  killed 
by  Captain  Joshua  S.  Nickerson,  in  the  whaling  sch. 
A.  B.  Nickerson,  and  measured  sixty-five  feet,  four 
inches  in  length ;  across  the  tail  fourteen  feet,  six 
inches  ;  length  of  lower  jaw,  eleven  feet ; 
length  of  fins,  ten  feet ;  girth,  thirty-seven  feet; 
estimated  weight,  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  tons ; 


87 

capacity  of  mouth,  when  closed,  thirty  barrels.  Some 
idea  of  its  imense  size  can  be  formed  by  noticing  the 
two  men  and  dog  that  are  on  it.  It  was  sold  to  a 
Chicago,  syndicate ;  special  cars  were  made  to  trans, 
port  it,  and  it  was  taken  through  the  western 
country  on  exhibition,  Captain  Newton  P.  West 
going  as  descriptive  lecturer.  This  engraving  was 
made  from  a  photograph  taken  on  the  beach  at  low 
water,  and  gives  a  true  and  correct  picture  of  this 
great  cetacean. 

THE    EIGHT    WHALE. 

There  are  several  species  of  this  whale  and  some 
of  chem  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  being  the  largest 
specimens  of  known  animal  life,  weighing  upwards 
of  100  tons,  and  yielding  in  known  instances  three 
hundred  pounds  of  oil.  The  one  most  sought  after 
is  the  bow-head  or  Arctic  whale,  who  makes  his  home 
and  cruising  grounds  in  the  far  North,  up  Behring 
Sea,  and  near  Wrangel  Land.  The  season  for  taking 
this  whale  is  short,  rarely  extending  over  six  weeks. 
Nature  has  provided  them  with  a  thick  coat  of  blub- 
ber to  withstand  the  rigors  of  the  Arctic  climate,  and 
it  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  kill  a  whale  where 
the  thickness  of  the  blubber  is  two  feet  and  up- 
wards. This  whale  also  furnishes  the  best  article  of 
the  whale  bone  of  commerce  which  readily  sells  in 
the  market  for  two  dollars  per  pound.     This  whale 


88 

has  no  teeth,  but  the  mouth  is  furnished  with  large 
plates  of  this  bone,  twelve  to  fourteen  feet  in  length, 
and  two  feet  and  over  in  breadth  where  it  is  attached 
to  the  jaw.  A  whale  yielding  one  hundred  barrels 
of  oil,  will  have  about  one  thousand  pounds  of  bone  ; 
this  bone  around  the  edge  has  a  long  coarse  fiber,  by 
which  the  whale  obtains  its  food.  Swimming 
through  the  water  with  open  mouth,  it  takes  in  im- 
mense quantities  of  small  shrimp  and  other  animal- 
cule©, called  whale  feed  ;  it  then  closes  the  mouth  and 
ejects  the  water,  the  long  fibers  retaining  the 
food  collected,  which  is  then  taken  off  by  the  tongue 
and  conveyed  to  the  stomach  ;  the  amount  that  a 
whale  will  eat  is  immense,  and  can  only  be  estimated 
by  barrels.  These  whales  are  not  fighters,  and  there 
is  no  sport  nor  great  danger  in  capturing  them  ;  very 
rarely  an  accident  happens,  and  then  it  is  due  more 
to  carelessness  and  mismanagement  of  the  boat,  then 
from  any  design  on  the  part  of  the  whale  to  inflict 
an  injury.  When  struck  with  the  harpoon,  the 
whale  will  run  slowly  for  a  short  distance  and  then 
stop  ;  the  boats  crew  haul  in  the  lire,  bringing  the 
boat  right  up  against  him,  the  officer  then,  with  hand 
lance,  probes  the  whale  in  its  vital  parts  ;  the  whale, 
with  head  raised  out  of  water,  uttering  a  loud  groan- 
ing noise,  and  showing  no  disposition  to  defend  it- 
self. It  finally  dies,  and  in  the  death  agony  a  boat 
is  sometimes  injured   by   being   too  near  him.     The 


89 

ship  is  then  brought  alongside,  and  the  huge  strips 
of  blubber  taken  off  and  stowed  below  in  the  blub- 
ber room  ;  the  bone  taken  out  of  the  mouth,  the 
carcass  is  then  turned  adrift  to  become  food  for  shark, 
and  the  innumerable  sea  fowl  that  inhabit  the  Arc- 
tic regions.  This  whale  is  also  found  on  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland,  and  in  Hudson's  Bay,  up  an  inlet 
called  Rowe's  Welcome ;  vessels  engaged  in  this 
bianch  of  whaling,  often  remaining  out  two  seasons, 
wintering  in  some  of  the  harbors,  the  vessel  being 
stripped  of  sails,  and  rigging  housed  over,  and  bank- 
ed up  with  snow  ;  the  crew  spending  the  long  winter 
night  in  idleness,  the  monotony  only  being  broken  by 
an  occasional  reindeer  or  bear  hunt,  or  a  visit  from 
the  Esquimaux  natives.  For  weeks  the  sun  does 
not  rise  above  the  horizon,  but  upon  its  return,  all 
is  activity  and  bustle,  getting  the  ship  out  of  winter 
quarters,  and  fitting  up  for  the  short  season  of  whal- 
ing, urged  on  by  the  thoughts  of  soon  returning 
home  with  a  good  catch  of  oil  to  pay  for  their  forced 
absence  and  hardships  endured.  Many  Arctic  ex- 
plorers like  Tyson  Hall,  and  others,  obtained  their 
Arctic  knowledge  on  board  of  a  New  Bedford  or 
New  London  whaler,  thus  fitting  them  to  be  the 
most  successful  explorers  in  the  far  distant  North. 
The  long  sought  North-west  passage  was  first  known 
to  exist  by  the  capture  of  a  whale  on  the  west  coast 
of  Greenland,  a  harpoon  being  found  imbedded  in 


90 

the  flesh,  bearing  a  ship's  name  that  was  known  to  be 
at  that  time,  off  the  Alaskan  Coast.  The  flesh  of 
the  whale  is  eaten  b}7  the  natives,  and  though 
coarse,  it  resembles  lean  beef  in  texture  and  taste, 
when  taken  from  a  newly-killed  whale.  The  natives 
of  Greenland,  pickle  the  outer  cuticle  or  skin,  and  it 
is  very  palatable,  and  an  excellent  antiscorbutive. 
Portions  of  the  fins  and  tail,  when  boiled  in  salt  and 
water,  make  a  toothsome  dish,  and  one  not  to  be 
despised  by  epicures,  the  flavor  resembling  some- 
what soused  pigs'  feet.  To  the  poor  Greenlander 
and  Esquimaux,  the  whale  is  a  perfect  godsend ; 
utilizing  every  part ;  the  oil  serves  to  warm  their 
huts  during  the  long  winter,  taking  the  place  of 
wood  and  coal,  the  flesh  is  eaten,  lines  and  ropes 
made  of  the  sinews,  the  intestines  scraped  and 
cleansed,  are  used  in  lieu  of  glass  to  let  light  into 
their  huts.  If  one  or  more  whales  are  not  taken  dur- 
ing the  season,  it  amounts  to  almost  a  famine  in 
the  little  community,  and  great  hardships  have  to  be 
endured  during  the  long  winter  to  obtain  food  from 
the  seal  and  bear. 

THE   HUMPBACK   WHALE. 

This  specie  seems  to  be  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  sperm  and  the  right  whale,  partaking  of 
of  some  of  the  qualities  of  each.  The  oil  is  not  so 
valuable  as  the  sperm,  nor  the  bone  as  good  as  the 
right  whale  ;  still  they  are  much  hunted  around  the 


91 

West  India  Islands,  where  they  are  most  abundant. 
Unlike  other  whales,  they  do  not  go  in  herds  or 
schools,  but  in  pairs,  unless  the  calf  or  young  are 
present.  Like  all  other  cetacean,  the  young  are  born 
alive,  and  suckled  till  able  to  provide  for  themselves. 
One  young  is  only  brought  forth  at  a  birth ;  the 
period  of  gestation  is  not  known.  The  principle 
places  in  the  West  India  Islands  where  this  whale  is 
hunted,  are  Marie  Galante,  Guadaloupe,  Isle  Blanco 
and  around  Barbadoes.  Short-voyage  vessels,  from 
Provincetown  and  other  ports,  hunt  the  whale  in  the 
early  spring,  from  February  till  June ;  then  leaving 
for  the  sperm  whale  grounds  to  finish  the  season. 
When  a  whale  is  killed  by  one  of  the  vessels,  near 
one  of  the  Islands,  the  negros  flock  on  board  in  num- 
bers eager  to  get  the  whale  beef,  and  many  a  captain 
has  filled  his  decks  full  of  oranges,  bananas  and  co- 
coanuts  in  exchange  for  whale  meat ;  occasionally  a 
humpback  will  sink  when  killed,  and  the  sharks  are 
so  plenty  in  that  warm  climate,  that  the  whaleman 
lose  their  whale,  it  being  eaten  so  badly  that  it  would 
not  come  to  the  surface.  When  cutting  in  a  whale, 
a  man  has  to  stand  in  the  gangway  with  a  sharp 
spade  to  keep  the  sharks  away,  they  are  so  abun- 
dant ;  if  the  whale  should  be  left  alone  it  would  soon 
be  eaten,  all  but  the  bones  ;  occasionally  a  humpback 
whale  is  seen  north  of  the  Gulf  Stream  and  along 
the  coast  of  New  England,  but  the  cases  are  rare. 


92 

THE    WHALE'S  ENEMIES. 

Though  the  largest  thing  that  swims  the  ocean, 
the  whale  is  by  no  means  king,  and  man  is  not  the 
only  one  that  preys  upon  the  whale.  The  sword- 
fish,  who  is  the  John  L.  of  the  sea,  delights  in  at- 
tacking the  whale,  plunging  his  long,  sharp  sword 
again  and  again  into  the  whale's  body  ;  unable  to  pro- 
tect itself,  the  whale  is  killed.  Why  the  sword-fish 
should  make  this  onslaught  on  the  whale  is  a  mystery, 
as  the  sword-fish  cannot  eat  any  part  of  the  whale, 
and  it  must  be  done  purely  out  of  spite,  and  a  wish 
to  destroy.  Not  so  with  the  thresher  or  killer, 
another  of  the  whale's  enemies,  who  will  hover 
around  the  whale,  watching  for  a  chance  when  he 
comes  to  the  surface  to  blow  or  breath ;  the  killer 
will  then  throw  himself  on  top  of  the  whale,  and 
strike  heavy  blows  with  his  tail  over  the  spout  hole, 
thus  smothering  the  whale,  which  dies  of  suffocation. 
The  killer  then  feasts  eagerly  on  the  tongue,  touch- 
ing no  other  part,  leaving  the  rest  to  the  sharks,  — 
scavengers  of  the  deep. 

ANECDOTES    AND   INCIDENTS. 

Of  whales  attacking  vessels  and  inflicting  serious 
damage  there  are  but  three  known  instances.  The 
ship  Essex,  off  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  the 
Am.  Alexander,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  De  La 
Plata,  both  of  which  are  a  matter  of  history  and  the 
incidents   have    been   published    man}'   times.     The 


93 

other  instance  we  believe  was  never  printed,  which 
was  the  case  of  the  barque  Parker  Cook,  of  Province- 
town,  Mass.,  Capt.  John  Cook.  This  vessel  was 
cruising  off  the  Azores  or  Western  Islands  and  struck 
a  large,  lone  sperm  whale,  which  proved  to  be  an 
ugly  customer  and  showed  fight.  After  demolishing 
the  boats  it  attacked  the  vessel  and,  rushing  towards 
the  vessel  with  open  mouth,  bit  the  forefoot  clean  to 
the  wood  ends  of  the  planking,  causing  the  vessel 
to  leak  badly.  Apparently  satisfied  with  the  dam- 
age done,  it  then  left  the  vessel,  and  laved  by  about 
a  fourth  of  a  mile  to  windward  of  the  ship.  Capt. 
Cook  patched  up  one  of  his  boats  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  second  mate  had  lost  a  leg  in  the  encounter 
and  the  rest  of  the  crew  more  or  less  demoralized^ 
again  went  for  the  whale  and  killed  him  ;  after  cutting 
him  in,  the  vessel  was  put  for  Fayal,  Azores,  and  by 
pumping  and  bailing,  was  kept  afloat  till  she  reached 
the  port.  Upon  examination,  it  was  found  that 
only  about  one-half  inch  of  wood  was  left  forward, 
where  the  damage  was  done.  Had  that  been  re- 
moved the  vessel  .would  have  gone  to  the  bottom. 
The  whale  made  about  ninety  barrels  of  oil. 

A    NARROW    ESCAPE. 

Mr.  Franklin  Atkins,  a  veteran  in  the  whaling 
business  from  Provincetown,  while  engaged  in 
sperm  whaling  near  the  West  India  Islands,  fastened 
to  a  large  sperm  whale.     The  whale  struck  the  boat 


94 

with  his  flukes,  throwing  it  up  into  the  air  and  spill- 
ing out  the  crew.  When  Mr.  Atkins  fell,  he  struck 
directly  into  the  whale's  mouth,  which  was  lying  with 
the  jaw  open.  Terribly  bruised  and  mangled  by 
falling  on  the  whale's  teeth,  he  fortunately  extricated 
himself  before  the  jaw  closed  ;  he  then  managed  with 
much  exertion  to  get  on  to  the  botton  of  the  boat, 
which  was  badly  shattered.  Another  boat  came  to 
their  relief,  and  he  was  taken  on  board  and  his 
wounds,  which  were  frightful,  were  attended  to. 
For  four  weeks  he  lay  in  a  very  critical  condition, 
and  at  times  his  life  was  despaired  of,  but  a  strong, 
healthy  constitution  enabled  him  to  pull  through,  but 
he  carried  many  a  large  scar  from  the  effects,  on  his 
back  and  side,  till  the  day  of  his  death.  Had  the 
jaw  closed  when  he  was  in  the  whale's  mouth,  he 
would  have  been  crushed  to  pieces.  The  whale  was 
finally  captured,  and  yielded  nearly  a  hundred  barrels 
of  oil.  The  old  gentleman  in  his  declining  years 
after  retiring  from  the  sea,  in  relating  the  adventure 
would  close  his  tale  by  saying  that,  "He  and  Jonah 
were  the  only  two  persons  that  had  been  into  a 
whale's  mouth  and  come  out  alive." 

A  ludicrous  incident  happened  to  a  boat's  crew, 
engaged  in  humpback  whaling  near  the  Spanish 
Main.  A  whale  was  struck,  and  capsizing  the  boat, 
one  of  the  crew  landed  on  the  back  of  the  whale, 
close  to  the  harpoon,  which  was  in  the  whale's  flesh. 


95 

The  man,  through  excitement  and  fright  at  his  situ- 
ation, grabbed  firmly  hold  of  the  staff.  The  whale 
instead  of  sounding,  swam   quickly  off  with  the  man 

clinging  on  to  his  back ;  the  whale  had  cleared  itself 
from  the  boat,  but  was  dragging  the  line  after  it. 
After  it  had  swam  a  short  distance,  it  turned  and 
came  back  near  the  vessel,  the  man  during  the  mean- 
time still  keeping  his  seat  on  the  whale's  back.  A 
boat  pulled  up  to  within  a  short  distance,  the  man 
then  struck  out  and  swam  to  the  boat,  carrying  the 
line  which  was  fast  to  the  harpoon  with  him,  and  the 
whale  was  finally  killed.  True  and  authentic  anec- 
dotes like  the  foregoing  could  be  related  without 
number,  but  enough  has  already  been  said  to  show 
the  public  some  of  the  dangers  connected  with 
the  business.  The  whaling  business  was,  at  one  time, 
one  of  the  principal  industries  of  New  England. 
Large  fleets  of  ships,  barques,  schooners  were  engag- 
ed, and  no  place  in  either  of  the  three  great  oceans, 
but  was  visited  by  these  vessels  in  search  for  whales. 
Nantucket  (at  one  time  mistress  of  the  seas  in  that 
business)  wharves  are  now  silent,  and  not  a  vessel 
sails  from  the  place.  New  Bedford,  now  the  largest 
whaling  port,  has  not  over  one-fifth  of  the  tonnage 
employed  that  it  had  in  the  palmy  days.  Province- 
town,  that  had  at  one  time  fifty-six  barques,  brigs 
and  schooners,  now  numbers  only  seven,  and  Edgar- 
town,  Mattapoisett,  New  London  and  Sag  Harbor, 


96 

collectively,  send  but  few  vessels.  The  discovery  of 
petroleum,  and  other  causes  have  about  ruined  the 
industry.  And  the  hardy,  old  whaleman,  that  has 
endured  the  heat  of  the  torrid,  and  the  extreme  cold 
of  the  Arctic  zones,  will  soon  be  numbered  with  the 
things  that  have  passed  away.  The  Civil  War  was 
also  a  great  damage  to  the  business.  Confederate 
cruisers  capturing  and  burning  a  large  number  of 
the  vessels  in  the  North-west  and  Ochotsk  seas,  some 
of  which  were  taken  after  the  war  closed. 

VESSELS    EMPLOYED. 

The  name  and  tonnage  of  the  whaling  fleet  from 
this  port  at  present  are  as  follows: 

RIG.  NAME.  OWNER.  TONNAGE. 

Brig.  D.  A.  Small.  Win.  Curran.  113.83  tons  net. 
Schr.  Carrie  D.  Knowles. 

George  O.  Knowles.  115  09 

Schr.  Alc}7one.  George  O.  Knowles.  87.61 
Schr.  Gage  H.  Phillips. 

George  O.  Knowles.  101.37 

Schr.  Baltic.  Emmons  Dyer.  80.5 

Schr.  Wm.  A.  Grozier. 

,   John  Dunham.  111.09 

Schr.  Rising  Sun.  Thomas  Taylor.  65.99 

These  vessels  are  mostly  engaged  in  the  sperm 
whale  buisness,  and  hardly  ever  fit  for  more  than  one 
season.  The  Captain  and  most  of  the  officers  are  from 
this  place,  while  the  crews  are  mostly  negros  from 
the  West  India  or  Cape  DeVerd  Islands. 


11  n 


•>•>  11 

11  11 


ii 


COD-FISHING. 

One  of  the  most  important  industries  of  this  place 
is  the  cod-fishing.  Probably  no  branch  of  fishing 
has  gone  through  so  many  changes  as  this.  In  the 
early  days  the  vessels  were  small,  some  of  them  pink, 
or  sharp  sterns  carrying  only  about  five  or  six  hun- 
dred quintals  of  fish,  and  making  two  trips  a  season, 
which  generally  lasted  from  March  to  October.  The 
fishing  in  those  days  was  all  done  with  hand  lines 
and  the  crew  fished  from  the  vessel,  standing  watch 
and  fishing  half  and  half,  one  part  catching  while 
the  others  dressed  the  fish.  The  crews  in  those  days 
were  mostly  citizens  of  the  place  and  each  man  was 
paid  according  to  the  amount  of  fish  he  caught. 
The  business,  however,  was  carried  on  on  a  very  small 
scale  at  first,  but  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  it 
had  grown  to  be,  next  to  whaling,  the  chief  industry 
of  the  place.  The  war  of  1812  and  '  14  was  a  check 
to  the  business,  but  after  peace  was  declared  it  was 
pursued  with  renewed  activity.  Some  of  our  older 
citizens,  to-day,  remember  when  the  Welcome  Return, 
Widow  Wadman,  Yazo,  Bion,  North  Cape,  Abba- 
thule,  and  the  old  Billy  Gray  were  crack  vessels  of 


98 

the  lieet.  It  is  told  of  the  Billy  Gray  that  in  com- 
ing home  from  the  Labrador  with  a  load  of  fish,  dur- 
ing a  heavy  gale  of  wind  the  schooner  was  drugged 
by  putting  an  anchor  over  the  stern  and  riding  out 
the  gale  in  that  wa}r,  never  shipping  a  drop  of  water. 
The  reason  the  crew  did  so,  was  because  the  vessel 
was  so  much  sharper  aft  that  she  rode  the  seas  better. 
There  has  been  no  great  change  in  the  hand- 
ling of  the  fish  after  the  vessel  has  returned  home 
with  a  fare.  The  fish  are  brought  ashore  in  boats, 
and  thrown  into  the  water  where  they  are  washed, 
and  then  spread  on  flakes  to  dry  Some,  however, 
at  present  are  put  into  butts  with  a  strong  brine  or 
pickle,  which  are  called  pickle-cured  fish.  The 
first  decided  change  in  the  business  was  the  intro- 
duction of  dory  fishing,  each  one  of  the  crew  hav- 
ing a  dory  and  pulling  away  from  the  vessel,  anchor 
and  fish  with  hand  lines.  Old  experienced  fisher- 
men claim,  to-day,  that  a  fare  of  fish  could  not  be 
taken  in  the  old  way  from  the  vessel.  Trawls  were 
also  used  on  the  banks,  which  for  the  benefit  of  the 
uninitiated  I  will  say,  means  a  long  line,  in  some  in- 
stances over  one  mile  in  length,  with  hooks  fastened 
to  short  lines  about  three  feet  long,  and  fastened  to 
the  long  line  at  equal  distances, — about  six  feet 
apart.  The  expense  of  this  mode  of  fishing  lias 
caused  the  almost  total  abandonment  of  it  in  the 
Grand  Bank  fishery.     During  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 


99 


MAKING  FISH,  HILLIARD'S  WHARF. 

lion,  this  industry  made  a  rapid  stride  onward  ;  the 
high  price  of  fish  during  those  years,  and  the  years 
immediately  following  gave  the  industry  such  a  boom 
that  it  was  known  as  the  "  flush  times."  New  and 
larger  vessels  were  built,  and  crews  numbering  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  men  were  carried.  Dry 
fish  sold  for  five  and  six  dollars  a  quintal,  and  in 
some  instances  for  seven  dollars  and  upwards.  The 
captain  and  owners  of  the  vessels  would  assume  all 
the  risk  and  ship  crews,  paying  them  from  two  hun- 
dred to  as  high  as  five  hundred  dollars  a  man,  ac- 
cording to  his  known  qualities  as  a  fisherman.  The 
fleet,  at  present,  engaged  in  this  industry,  is  composed 
of  some  of   the  finest    vessels    afloat  and  from  one 


100 

hundred  and  twenty  up  to  nearly  two  hundred  tons 
burden.  They  sail  in  April  and  May,  returning 
about  September.  The  crews  are  all  hired,  the  cap- 
tain, and  sometimes  the  owners,  assuming  the  risk 
of  the  voyage.  If  there  should  be  a  scarcity  of  fish 
or  prices  rule  low,  the  summer's  work  would  be  a 
failure,  and  the  coming  year  would  see  a  depression 
in  the  crew's  wages.  The  year  1889,  was  an  excep- 
tionally poor  year,  and  but  one  vessel,  the  Cora  S. 
McKay,  succeeded  in  getting  anywhere  near  a  fare 
of  fish.  But  very  few  got  over  half  a  fare,  while 
the  majority  did  not  get  but  some  few  hundred  quin- 
tals. There  are,  at  present,  forty-one  vessels  en- 
gaged in  the  Grand  Bank  fishery,  which  are  owned 
and  managed  by  the  following  persons  :  Of  this 
fleet,  two  are  three-masters,  Lizzie  W.  Matheson, 
one  hundred  and  ninety-three  tons  burden,  owned 
by  H.  and  S.  Cook  &  Co.  ;  Grace  F.  Littleton,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  tons  burden,  owned  by  Phil- 
lip A.  Wharf.  Owners:  William  Matheson,  eight 
vessels  ;  Henry  Cook,  six  ;  P.  A.  Whorf,  six  ;  David 
Conwell,  four  ;  S.  S.  Swift,  four  ;  John  D.  Hilliard, 
three  ;  J.  &  L.  N.  Paine,  three  ;  John  B.  Matheson, 
two;  the  remaining  five  are  each  one  owned  and 
managed  by  a  different  party.  Owing  to  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  fresh  fishing  industry,  and  the  facili- 
ties for  keeping  the  fish  fresh  for  some  length  of 
time  so  that  they  can  be  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the 


101 

States,  the  salt  fishery  has  fallen  off  greatly,  the 
market  for  them  being  in  a  great  measure  limited 
to  foreign  exportation.  The  fresh  fishing  industry 
has  thirty-three  vessels  that  belong  here,  and  the 
larger  part  of  them  fish  the  whole  year  round, 
with  the  exception  of  a  short  time  during  mid-win- 
ter, when  they  haul  off  to  paint  and  refit  for  the  work. 
The  majority  of  the  captains  and  crews  of  these 
vessels  are  Portugese  citizens  from  the  Western  Is- 
lands. The  owners  of  the  fleet  are  as  follows  :  Cen- 
tral Wharf  Co.,  five  vessels;  Joseph  Manta,  five; 
John  Adams,  three  ;  Joseph  Matthews,  three  ;  David 
Conwell.  two;  Charles  A.  Cook,  two;  Andrew  T. 
Williams,  two  ;  P.  A.  Whorf,  two  ;  the  remaining 
ten  vessels  are  owned  singly,  either  by  the  captain 
or  not  belonging  to  any  firm.  In  this  fleet  there  are 
some  crack  sailers  that  have  made  their  mark,  and 
a  record.  The  I.  J.  Merritt,  Julia  Costa,  Isaac 
Collins  and  Joseph  P.  Johnson  are  among  the  most 
noted.  The  fishing  fleet  from  this  place  is  not  large, 
but  for  quality  of  vessels  there  is  no  place  in  the 
State  that  has  any  better.  Besides  the  number  of 
fresh  fishermen  mentioned  here,  there  are.  at  present, 
eight  vessels  from  other  places  sailing  from  here, 
commanded  and  manned  by  Provincetown  men.  This 
fleet  cruise  from  the  South  Channel,  off  Nantucket, 
to  Cape  Sable  on  the  Nova  Scotia  shore  ;  the  time 
taken  on  these  trips  rarely  extends  over  two  weeks. 


102 

When  the  fish  draw  in  off  the  Cape  here,  some  quick 
trips  have  been  made.  One  of  the  most  notable 
was  that  of  the  Julia  Costa,  Captain  Costa,  which 
sailed  from  this  port  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
sailed  to  the  fishing  grounds  about  fifteen  miles 
north-east  of  the  Highland  Light,  caught  fifteen 
thousand  pounds  of  cod-fish,  and  was  in  Boston,  at 
the  wharf  at  eleven  o'clock  that  night ;  having  sailed 
about  one  hundred  miles  in  the  mean  time.  A  great 
deal  of  rough  weather  is  experienced  by  these 
vessels,  but  the  fleet  since  this  has  been  an  industry 
here,  has  been  exceptionally  free  from  meeting  with 
disaster. 


HIGHFLYERS  OF  THE  FRESH-FISHING 

FLEET. 


I.  J.  Merritt,  Jr.,  from  a  Photo  by  W.  31.  Smith  as  she  appeared  in  the  rare 

Fast-day.  1888. 

The  I.  J.  Merritt,  Jr.,  as  she  appeared  in  the  fisher- 
man's race,  Fast  Day,  1888.  and  took  second  prize, 
commanded  by  Capt.  Charley  Harty.  of  Gloucester. 
She  competed  with  Carrie  Phillips,  Carrie  Babson 
and  Roulette.  She  is  now  owned  by  John  Adams 
and  others,  and  commanded  by  Capt.  Souza. 


it/ 


gMAMV^V 


-#s  -  - 


5*SSSS?S|:] 


_^J(B|*fW«s«5i* 


!*K^£ 


,^ 


Julia  Costa,  passing  Minot's  Lighthouse,  from  a  photograph  by  Win.  31.  Smith. 

The  Julia  Costa  is  owned  by  Capt.  Joseph  Manta  ; 
she  was  built  for  Capt.  Costa.  She  was  the  first  of 
the  clipper  fleet  to  come  here.  In  the  fisherman's 
race  before  mentioned,  Provincetown  was  not  repre- 
sented, ('apt.  Manta  had  this  vessel  designed  and 
built,  intending  if  another  race  took  place,  to  have 
entered  in  the  contest.  A  record  of  her  doings  on  a 
trip  will  be  found  in  another  place. 


THE  OLD  TOWN  HALL. 


OLD  TOWN  HALL,  FROM  AN  OLD  PICTURE. 

This  building  was  erected  on  High  Pole  Hill,  and 
was  a  conspieious  landmark,  it  could  be  seen  from  a 


106 

vessel's  deck  nearly  half-way  to  Boston  Light.  In 
1853  the  town  bought  what  was  known  as  High 
Pole  Hill  from  Godfrey  Ryder,  Jonathan  Cook,  Asa 
S.  Bowley,  Philip  Cook,  Seth  Nickerson,  2d,  Joseph 
Atkins,  Samuel  Chapman,  for  the  sum  of  three  hund- 
red and  fifty  dollars.  The  deed  was  recorded  June 
9th,  1853.  The  next  year  the  top  of  the  hill  was 
cut  down  some  feet,  and  the  building  put  up  at  a 
cost  of  nearly  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The  upper 
part  of  the  building  was  used  for  a  High  School. 
On  Feb.  16,  1877,  at  8.25  P.  M.  it  was  burned  to  the 
ground ;  the  origin  of  the  fire  was  never  known  ; 
various  theories  were  set  afloat,  but  nothing  ever 
definate  was  arrived  at.  Situated  as  it  was  and 
being  built  largely  of  hard  pine,  every  effort  of  the 
firemen  was  of  no  avail  and  the  building  was  a  total 
loss.  The  only  memento  ever  put  in  this  place  to 
record  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  here,  was  a  mar- 
ble tablet  set  in  the  front  of. the  building;  this  was 
destroyed  by  the  fire. 

THE  NEW  TOWN  HALL. 
This  building  was  commenced  Sept.  10,  188~>, 
and  dedicated  August  25,  1886,  with  imposing 
ceremonies,  Gov.  Robinson  and  other  noted  State 
officials  being  present.  Rev.  William  Henry  Ryder, 
a  former  citizen  of  this  place,  but  now  desceased, 
generously  gave  the  homestead  place  for  the  site, 
but  the  town  officials  not  deeming  it  large  enough 


107 

took  the  two  adjoining  estates,  Dr.  Ryder  paying  for 
all  the  land  taken.  The  cost  of  the  building  was 
#50,400.  John  A.  Fox,  of  Boston,  architect;  William 
J.  Jobling,  contractor  and  builder  ;  Samuel  C.  John- 


NEW  TOWN  HALL,  FROM  A  PHOTO.  BY  1VM.  H.  SMITH. 

son,  master  carpenter;  Alfred  Small,  superintendent 
of  building.  The  building  committee  were  Marshall 
L.  Adams,  Charles  H.  Dyer,    B.  O.  Gross,  Atkins 


108 
Nickerson,  James  A.  Small,  John  D.  Hilliard, 
George  O.  Knowles,  Alfred  Small.  The  first 
three  names  were  the  board  of  selectmen  at  the 
time.  'This  building  throughout  is  built  in  the  very 
best  manner,  and  is  the  finest  structure  of  the  kind 
in  southeastern  Massachusetts.  All  of  the  modern 
appliances  are  to  be  found  here,  steam  heating,  gas 
lighting,  etc.  In  the  hall  proper,  which  is  capable 
of  seating  one  thousand  persons,  there  is  a  large 
stage  with  a  tine  and  full  set  of  scenery,  sufficient 
for  any  dramatic  play ;  this  cost  over  #1000.  The 
clock  in  the  tower  was  the  gift  of  the  Hon.  Joseph 
P.  Johnson,  a  citizen  and  resident.  The  bell  was 
the  gift  of  Mr.  John  F.  Nickerson,  a  former  citizen, 
but  now  residing  in  Boston.  All  of  the  town  officials 
have  their  rooms  on  the  lower  floor,  and  the  Ryder 
Street  entrance  is  always  open  to  the  public  during 
business  hours.  In  the  large  basement  there  are 
tables  and  dishes,  with  all  the  rest  of  the  appliances 
for  getting  up  a  collation  or  supper.  One  interest- 
ing relic  of  the  town  is  also  kept  there,  the  old  hand 
fire  engine,  the  first  that  ever  came  to  this  place, 
built  in  1836,  and  called  the  Washington. 


PUBLIC    LIBRARY    BUILDING. 


Public  Library  and  Headquarters  J.  ('.    Freeman  Po*t  .">•">.  U.  A.  B.     Pho- 
to l»y  William  M.  Smith. 


110 

This  building  was  erected  in  1873  by  Mr.  Nathan 
Freeman,  an  old  and  respected  citizen  of  the  town, 
and  donated  to  the  town  to  be  used  as  a  Public  Libra- 
ry Building  on  the  lower  floor,  the  second  story  for  a 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Room.  The 
upper  part  of  the  building  to  be  used  for  photograph 
business,  the  income  to  be  applied  to  keeping  the 
building  and  grounds  in  order.  I  have  been  allowed 
by  the  Trustees  of  the  Building  to  copy  from  the 
original  indenture  the  following  articles  which  are 
of  the  most  interest  in  that  document. 

Article  Sixth  :  The  first  floor  of  the  building, 
excepting  the  entrance  hall,  shall  be  used  and  occu- 
pied solely  for  the  purposes  of  the  Public  Library. 
The  second  floor  of  the  same,  except  as  aforesaid, 
for  the  sole  use  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, and  the  third  story  may  be  occupied  and 
rented  for  photograph  rooms  or  for  other  reputable 
purposes. 

Article  Eighth  :  If  at  any  time  either  the  room 
assigned  to  be  used  for  a  Public  Library  or  the  room 
assigned  to  the  use  of,  and  occupancy  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  shall  fail  to  be  used  for 
the  several  purposes  herein  named,  for  three  consec- 
utive years,  then  such  rooms  shall  rebut  to  my  heirs 
at  law,  but  such  rooms  shall  never  be  used  for  any 
purpose  whatever,  that  may  be  objectionable  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  if  tit  any  time,  both  objects 


Ill 

for  which  this  trust  is  instituted  shall  fail,  the  whole 
property  shall  revert  to  my  lawful  heirs. 

The  building  was  dedicated  ou  Thursday  evening, 
December  11th,  1873,  the  ceremonies  taking  place 
in  the  Center  M.  E.  Church,  Hon.  Nathaniel  E. 
At  wood  presiding.  After  making  a  few  remarks 
Mr.  Freeman  was  called  upon  and  in  a  few  well 
chosen  remarks,  in  which  he  stated  his  motives  for 
erecting  the  building,  he  passed  the  deed  of  convey- 
ance to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  which  was  read  by 
his  son,  Mr.  Nathan  T.  Freeman,  after  which  Mr. 
Andrew  T.  Williams  made  the  speech  of  acceptance, 
followed  by  speeches  by  Hon.  James  Gifford,  Dr. 
Henry  Shortle  and  others.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  having  given  up  the  rooms  allotted 
to  them,  the  Board  of  Trustees,  together  with  Mr. 
Nathan  D.  Freeman  fitted  up  the  rooms  and  they  are 
now  used  by  the  Josiah  C.  Freeman  Post  55,  G.  A. 
R.,  The  Women's  Relief  Corps  and  other  beneficial 
organizations.  The  present  Board  of  Trustees  is  A. 
Lewis  Putman,  Pres.  ;  John  D.  Hilliard,  Sec.  and 
Treasurer;  Lysander  N.  Paine,  Joshua  Cook,  Henry 
Short! e,  John  G.  Whitcomb,  Andrew  T.  Williams, 
Hon.  James  Gilford. 

THE   LIBRARY. 

The  first  movement  towards  a  Public  Library  was 
in  1863,  when  the  Mayflower  Division  of  the  Sons 
of  Temperance  donated  to  the  town  and  deposited 


112 

in  the  Seaman's  Saving  Bank,  a  sum  of  money 
amounting  to  nearly  three  hundred  dollars.  This 
to  form  a  nucleus,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  sum 
of  money  to  establish  a  Public  Library.  The  first 
movement  made  by  the  town  was  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  1872,  when  it  was  voted  to  appropriate 
the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars  and  the  dog  tax  re- 
funded to  the  town  by  the  county  for  the  three 
preceding  years,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  ^191 .4/) 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Public  Library. 
At  the  annual  meeting  1873,  $58.58,  the  amount  of 
the  dog  tax  for  1872,  was  added  to  the  fund.  In 
1874  seven  Trustees  were  chosen  and  the  accumulat- 
ed funds  were  placed  in  their  hands,  the  town  also 
appropriated  $2000  for  the  purchase  of  books,  pro- 
vided that  $1000  should  be  raised  by  subscription. 
Through  the  efforts  of  Hon.  James  Gifford  a  suffi- 
cient amount  was  raised,  and  the  Trustees  received 
the  total  amount  of  $3,466.12.  Mr.  Augustus  Mitchell 
was  chosen  to  make  the  selection  of  books,  which 
selection  was  made  with  great  care  and  met  with  unan- 
imous approval  by  all.  The  Library  was  open  to  the 
public  June  13th,  1874.  In  1889  an  aged  and  res- 
pected citizen  of  this  town,  Mr.  Benjamin  Small, 
donated  to  the  Library  the  munificent  sum  of  $5000 
in  stocks  and  bonds  as  a  perpetual 'fund,  the  income 
of  which  should  be  applied  to  purchase  books  for 
the   Library,  the  principal  to  remain  intact.     The 


113 

first  librarian  was  Miss  Salome  Gifford,  followed  by 
Mr.  William  R.  Mitchell,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Miss  Mattie  W.  Bangs,  the  present  librarian.  At 
the  opening  of  the  library  there  were  2202  volumes  ; 
on  Jan.  1st,  1890  there  were  4309,  exclusive  of 
Public  Documents.  There  are  2433  names  on  the 
register.  The  yearly  circulation  last  year  was 
9208.  There  has  recently  been  placed  in  the 
Library  room  a  fine  picture  of  Mr.  Nathan  Freeman, 
who  erected  the  building. 


FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK  PROVINCETOWN 


First  National  Bank.    Photo  by  William  M.  Smith. 


115 

This  bank  was  incorporated  first  as  a  State  Bank. 
The  act  of  incorporation  was  passed  March  28th, 
1854.  The  first  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was 
held  at  the  Town  House,  May  8th,  1854,  Daniel 
Small  as  Chairman,  Elijah  Smith  as  Secretary.  The 
act  of  incorporation  was  accepted,  and  a  code  of 
by-laws  adopted.  The  first  Board  of  Directors  chosen 
at  that  time,  were  Nathan  Freeman,  2d,  Daniel  Small, 
Isaiah  Gifford,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Henry  Cook, 
Enos  Nickerson,  Samuel  Soper,  Eben  S.  Smith, 
Nathaniel  Holmes.  Samuel  Soper  having  declined 
serving,  at  a  subsequent  meeting  held  May  11th, 
Joshua  E.  Bowley  was  chosen  in  his  place.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  Directors  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Eben  S.  Smith,  and  choice  was  made  of  Nathan 
Freeman  as  President,  and  at  the  next  meeting,  June 
14th,  1854,  Elijah  Smith  was  chosen  Cashier.  The 
estate  of  Joshua  Cook  was  bought  and  the  building 
of  which  a  view  is  given  was  erected  on  the  premises. 
The  Bank  opened  successfully  and  has  done  a  good 
business  always,  paying  good  dividends  and  contin- 
ued to  do  so  during  the  time  it  was  a  State  bank,  grad- 
ually increasing  its  capital.  In  April,  1865,  it  was 
organized  as  the  First  National  Bank,  with  an  in- 
creased capital  to  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
(*200,000).  Elijah  Smith,  the  first  cashier  of  the 
Bank,  continued  in  that  capacity  until  his  death 
which  took  place  January,  1867.     Mr.  Smith,  by  his 


116 

kind  and  genial  manners,  won  many  friends  and  did 
much  towards  making  the  Bank  popular  with  the 
community.  At  his  decease,  Mr.  Moses  N.  GifiWd 
was  chosen  cashier.  Mr.  Nathan  Freeman,  the  Pres- 
ident from  the  organization  as  a  State  bank,  filled 
that  position  when  it  became  National,  and  by  his 
keen  judgment  and  conservativeness  placed  it  in  a 
sound  financial  condition  and  made  its  stock  a  very 
desirable  investment.  Mr.  Freeman  held  the  posi- 
tion until  he  died,  which  event  took  place  in  l*7o\ 
His  successor,  Mr.  Stephen  Cook,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  Directors  for  many  years,  having  been  elected 
on  the  Board  when  it  was  a  State  bank,  was  elected 
to  the  office,  and  by  his  skilful  management  the 
bank's  stock  was  sold  at  the  highest  point  it  ever 
reached.  Mr.  Cook  died  September,  1888.  Mr. 
Moses  N.  GifTord,  the  cashier,  was  chosen  to  fill  the 
the  vacancy  ;  Mr.  Gifford's  long  and  faithful  service 
of  twenty-six  years  as  cashier  eminently  fitting 
him  for  that  position.  Reuben  W.  Swift,  assistant 
cashier,  took  Mr.  Gifford's  place  as  cashier,  which 
position  he  held  until  his  death,  which  took  place 
December,  1889.  He  entered  service  at  the  bank 
in  1867,  as  clerk,  and  for  his  faithful  service  was 
appointed  assistant  cashier.  Mr.  Swift  was  a  man 
that  was  beloved  by  the  whole  community  for  his 
urbanity,  kindness  and  pleasant  ways  to  those  with 
whom    he    transacted    business,    and    not    only  the 


117 

bank,  but  the  entire  community,  felt  his  loss  when 
his  life's  iournev  ended.  Mr.  J.  Hersev  Dver.  who 
for  seventeen  years  had  held  the  position  of  Secretary 
and  Treasurer  of  the  Seaman's  Saving"  Bank,  took 
the  position  at  Mr.  Swift's  death.  Isaiah  A.  Small 
is  the  present  book-keeper.  The  Board  of  Directors 
are,  Henry  Cook,  Joshua  Paine,  William  A.  Atkins. 
Joseph  P.  Johnson,  N.  P.  Holmes.  John  D.  Milliard. 
George  O.  Knowles,  Joseph  A.  West  Moses  N.  Cxi t- 
ford.  Since  the  Bank  was  made  a  National  Bank 
it  has  paid  in  dividends  $437,000,  and  has  an  accum- 
lated  surplus  on  hand  of  about  870jNio.  When  the 
bank  was  first  organized  there  was  a  branch  of  the 
Freeman's  bank,  of  Boston,  located  in  the  Old  Union 
Wharf  store  ;  David  Fairbanks  had  charge  of  the 
business,  the  Boston  account  of  the  Provincetown 
bank  was  taken  to  the  Freeman's  bank  and  has  been 
kept  there  ever    since. 

The  history  of  the  bank  would  be  incom- 
plete without  especial  mention  of  Mr.  Henry 
Cook,  who  was  one  of  the  first  Directors 
chosen,  and  is  at  present  serving,  after  thirty-five 
consecutive  years  labor.  He  is  very  punctual  in  his 
attendance  on  the  meetings,  and  no  small  share  of 
the  bank's  prosperity  is  due  to  his  counsel  and 
advice. 

Note. — The  Freeman's  hank,  at  Union  Wharf  store,  was  robbed  bv  bur- 
glars August  17th,  1849  ;  about  $20,000  were  taken.  A  portion  of  the 
money  was  recovered,  but  not  sufficient  evidence  could  be  produced  t<> 
convict  the  culprits. 


SEAMAN'S   SAVINGS  BANK. 

This  institution,  one  of  the  most  beneficial  in  the 
place,  and  one  that  has  clone  a  large  amount  of 
good  to  the  people  here,  is  certainly  worthy  of 
mention.  An  act  to  incorporate  the  Seaman's  Sav- 
ings Bank  was  granted  to  David  Fairbanks,  Joseph 
B.  Hersey,  Thomas  Nickerson,  their  associates  and 
successors;  passed  the  House,  April  9th,  1851 ;  passed 
Senate,  April  12th,  1851  ;  was  approved  by  the  Gov. 
ernor,  George  S.  Boutwell,  April  14th,  1851.  The 
first  President  was  John  Adams,  who  served  four 
years,  followed  by  David  Fairbanks,  who  held  the 
position  eighteen  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
time  Mr.  Lysander  N.  Paine  was  chosen,  who  holds 
the  office  to-day.  The  Vice  Presidents  were  Win. 
Atkins,  Atkins  Nickerson,  and  John  D.  Hilliard,  the 
present  incumbent.  The  Secretaries  and  Treasurers, 
who  have  held  the  office  to  date,  and  time  of  service 
are  as  follows :  David  Fairbanks,  four  years,  three 
months  ;  R.  E.  Nickerson,  two  years  ;  Enos  Nicker- 
son, nine  years ;  John  Young,  Jr.,  five  years,  three 
months ;  Joseph  Hersey  Dyer,  seventeen  years ; 
Lewis  Nickerson,  recently  appointed  on  account  of 


119 

the  resignation  of  Mr.  Dyer,  he  being  called  to  a 
position  in  the  First  National  Bank  here.  When 
this. bank  first  commenced  business  it  was  carried  on 
in  the  Old  Union  Wharf  store,  but  shortly  after  Ex- 
change Building  was  built  for  that  purpose.  This 
bank,  like  all  institutions  of  the  kind,  has  seasons  of 
greater  prosperity  than  others,  but  has  always  been 
on  a  sound  basis  and  ably  managed,  so  much  so,  that 
not  a  dollar  has  ever  been  lost  by  a  depositor,  and 
there  has  been  paid  out  to  depositors  in  interest  and 
dividends,  since  organization,  over  a  half  million  dol- 
lars. The  capital  stock  at  present  is  $322,453  ;  num- 
ber of  depositors  1593.  The  bank  has  recently  pur- 
chased the  vacant  lot  of  land  on  Commercial  street, 
near  the  dwelling-house  of  Capt.  Angus  McKay,  and 
will  erect  on  it  a  new  building  for  the  bank  in  the 
near  future. 


JOSEPH   PROSPER    JOHNSON. 


JOSEPH  P.  JOHNSON. 


121 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose  likeness  we  pre- 
sent, is  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  place, 
having  identified  himself  with  much  of  the  public 
business  and  ever  tried  for  the  advancement  and  in- 
terest of  his  adopted  town.  Born  in  Essex,  Con- 
necticut, July  18th,  1813,  of  English  and  Scotch 
lineage,  his  grand-parents  having  come  from. Devon- 
shire and  Ayr  ;  his  parents  were  born  in  Connecti- 
cut. At  ihe  age  of  seventeen  he  came  to  this  place, 
June  17th,  1827,  and  apprenticed  himself  to  his 
brother,  Timothy  P.  Johnson,  until  he  was  twenty- 
one,  to  learn  the  sail-making  business.  After  com- 
pleting his  apprenticeship  he  went  into  business  on 
his  own  account,  in  which  he  remained  till  1850. 
He  then  formed  a  co-partnership  business,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Milliard,  Johnson  &  Co.,  general 
groceries  and  ship  chandlery,  on  what  is  now  Hil- 
liard's  Wharf.  This  business  was  carried  on  for  two 
years,  when  he  withdrew  from  the  firm  and  entered 
into  a  co-partnership  with  Reuben  F.  Cook,  and  did 
business  on  Market  wharf  (now  occupied  as  a  lum- 
ber wharf  by  George  Allen)  under  the  name  of  John- 
son &  Cook,  vessel  outfitters,  packers  and  dealers 
in  cod  and  mackerel,  which  business  was  carried  on 
successfully  for  five  years.  He  was  connected  with 
the  Boston  Board  of  Underwriters  for  twenty  years 
and  had  charge  of  the  interest  of  that  company  here 
for  fifteen  years.     In  1850,  he  was  elected  a  repre- 


122 

sentative  to  the  state  Legislature  from  this  District 
and  was  returned  in  '  51  '  55,  '  56,  '  62,  '  70,  '  71,  '  80. 
Afterwards  to  the  Senate  where  he  served  two  terms, 
in  the  years  1882  and  '83.  He  was  elected  one  of 
the  Board  of  Selectmen  in  1845,  and  served  five 
years  in  succession ;  then  served  again  for  three 
years  ;  was  again  elected,  but  resigned  to  go  to  South 
Carolina  on  a  wrecking  voyage,  having  formed  a  part- 
nership with  the  late  Isaiah  Gifford  in  that  business. 
t  For  twenty-eight  consecutive  years  he  presided  over 
the  annual  town  meetings.  When  he  resigned, 
Resolutions  were  passed,  in  a  legal  town  meeting 
assembled,  unanimously  thanking  him  for  his  long 
and  faithful  service  in  filling  the  unsolicited  office  ; 
which  Resolutions  were  framed  and  presented  to 
him  and  are  carefullv  preserved  as  a  momento  of  the 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow-townsmen. 
When  Mr.  Johnson  came  to  this  place  there  were 
but  three  trees  in  the  town,  and  those  were  willows, 
which  tradition  says  were  propagated  from  slips 
brought  by  a  whaling  captain  from  Bonaparte'e  grave 
at  St.  Helena.  None  of  these  trees  are  standing  to* 
day,  but  the  many  willows  here  are  from  the  slips  of 
the  original  trees.  At  that  time  there  were  no 
wharves,  nor  bulkheads  nor  obstructions  of  any  kind* 
along  the  shore.  The  vessels  that  went  to  the  Grand 
Banks,  after  discharging  their  fish,  would  be  hauled 
into  holes  dug  on  the  shore,  there  to  remain  until  the 


123 

following  spring.  The  sidewalk  was  not  laid,  neither 
was  there  any  street.  A  narrow  road,  from 
the  present  Post  Office,  ran  to  the  westward 
to  Cutter's  Corner  now  called  Kelley's ;  this 
road  was  soft  sand  and  the  vehicles  used  had 
four  to  six-inch  rims  to  the  wheels  to  keep  them 
from  burying  in  the  sand.  Mr.  Johnson  was  appoint- 
ed by  the  Board  of  Selectmen  in  1836  to  buy  the 
first  fire  engine  that  came  to  this  place,  and  it  is 
amusing  to  hear  him  tell  the  astonishment  of  the 
builders  when  he  ordered  the  wide  wheels.  This 
engine  is  serviceable  to-day,  and  is  kept  in  the  Town 
Hall  basement.  In  the  vear  1845  he  took  out  a  li- 
cense  as  public  auctioneer,  and  has  held  it  every 
year  since.  He  has  five  children  living,  two  sons 
and  three  daughters,  one  of  which  is  the  wife  of  our 
present  postmaster,  Paron  C.  Young.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  following  secret  beneficial  orders :  Blue 
Lodge  F.  and  A.  Masons,  of  this  place  ;  Royal  Arch 
Chapter,  Knight  Templars,  also  of  the  Boston  Lodge 
Royal  and  Select  Masters ;  Marine  Lodge  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  the  Boston  Lodge  of  Ancient  Odd  Fellows. 
Having  for  some  time  been  retired  from  active 
business  life,  he  can  be  seen  nearly  every  day  at  the 
Post  Office  relating  some  anecdote,  of  which  he  has 
a  large  store,  to  eager  listeners,  and  as  it  is  told  in 
his  pecular  way  it  never  fails  to  be  greeted  with  ap- 
plause, nor  does  it  tire  the  patience  of  his  audience. 
And  that  he  may  still  be  spared  to  us  long,  is  the 
wish  of  every  good  citizen. 


JOHN   PAINE  HAVENDER, 


The  old  Veteiaii  Grand   Hunker. 


125 

He  \va>  b  >rn  in  Provincetown,  October  1st,  1.S16, 

where  at  the  early  age  of  nine  rears  h_j  began  his 
fishing  life  as  cook  on  board  the  schooner  Onlv  Son. 
Captain  Thomas  Hilliarcl.  engaged  in  the  mackerel 
fishery.  This  was  in  the  year  1825.  The  next  year 
he  went  cook  to  the  Grand  Banks,  which  business 
he  followed  until  he  retired  from  sea.  passing-  through 
all  the  different  grades  of  cook,  hand,  mate  or  second 
hand,  to  captain.  He  was  in  the  latter  position 
thirty  years.  During  his  Grand  Bank  experience  he 
made  fifty-seven  voyages,  which  is  more  than  h  - 
been  made  by  any  other  man  in  the  town.  The  first 
vessel  of  which  he  took  charge  was  the  schoom 
Ouselond,  from  her  to  the  Raritan,  these  two  being 
the  only  vessels  that  he  had  charge  of  during  his 
thirty  years  as  master.  During  this  time  he  never 
was  wrecked  nor  carried  away  a  principal  spar,  never 
had  a  man  drowned,  and  always  got  a  full  fare  of 
fish.  When  lie  first  began  going  to  the  Banks  and 
for  many  years  after,  it  used  to  l»e  the  fashion  to  fish 
from  the  rail,  the  crew  fishing  half  and  half,  tli.it  is, 
one  portion  fishing,  the  other  dressing  the  fish  as 
caught,  alternately  relieving  each  other  at  their  labor. 
When  master,  the  fares  that  he  brought  in  would 
average  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  quintals,  hut 
would  occasionally  make  two  trips  in  one  season.  On 
one  voyage  in  the  Raritan  he  was  absent  just  seven 
weeks  from  home,  brought  in  a  full  fare  and  received 


126 

as  the  reward  of  his  labors  the  snug  little  sum  of 
^2200;  this  was  the  best  voyage  he  ever  made.     He 
has  seen  codfish  sell  for  $2  per  quintal  and  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  and  at  its  close  as  high  as 
$7.25.     For  the  past  eighteen  years  he  has  remained 
ashore,  only  going  fishing  in  his  little  boat  off  the 
shore  here      He  had,    at   one    time,    a  very  narrow 
escape  from  loss  of  vessel  and  all  hands,  which  we 
will  relate  in  his  own  words:     uWe  were  at  anchor 
to  the  windward  of  the  Main  Shoal  on  the  Grand 
Hanks;  there  was  quite  a  large  fleet  there  with  us. 
A  heavy  gale  came  up,  but  the  fleet  thought  they 
could  ride  it  out  and  remained  at  anchor.     The  gale 
increased,  and  the  shoal  water  to  leeward  was  break- 
ing mast-head  high,  a  mass  of  white  foam.     It  was 
useless  to  getunderweigh  ;in  the  strength  of  the  gale 
it  would  be  folly  and  the  only  hope  of  safety  was  in 
the  anchors  holding  on,  apparently  it  was  sure  des- 
truction to  go  adrift.     All  at  once  the  vessel  made  a 
heavy  plunge  into  the  sea,  and  I  knew  by  the  after 
motion  that  we  were  adrift.     Rushing  on  deck,  I  saw 
that  we  were  drifting  down  on  to  the  breakers  where 
it  was  sure  destruction,  but  while  there  is  life  there 
is  hope,  and  grabbing  an  axe  I  rushed  forward  and 
cut  the  cable  at   the   windlass    telling  the  crew  to 
hoist  the  jib,  I  than  went  aft  and  put  up  the  helm  ; 
as  I  done  so  I  saw  a  tremendous  breaker  which  was 
as  high  as  our   mast-head    rushing   down  on    us,  I 


127 

thought  that  our  last  voyage  was  over,  but  just  be- 
fore reaching  us  the  jib  and  helm  brought  the  vessel 
stern  to  the  sea  and  rising  on  it  we  were  sent  ahead 
at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour.  We  hardly 
dared  to  breathe,  such  was  our  speed,  and  expected 
every  second  that  the  schoooner  would  go  end  over 
end.  It  was  all  done  quicker  than  I  can  relate  it. 
we  were  over  the  shoal  and  in  comparatively  smooth 
water.  The  foresail  was  reefed,  the  vessel  hove  too, 
and  we  rode  out  the  rest  of  the  gale  without  any 
damage.  When  the  gale  moderated  we  returned  to 
the  fishing  grounds,  and  finished  up  our  trip  of  fish. 
The  rest  of  the  fleet  held  on  and  upon  our  return 
expressed  astonishment  in  seeing  us,  as  every  one  ex- 
pected that  we  had  gone  to  the  bottoii,  never  for  one 
moment  thinking  that  a  vessel  could  go  over  the 
Main  Shoal  in  a  gale  of  wind  and  through  the  break- 
ers, and  come  out  of  it  all  right.  I  hardly  think  it 
could  be  done  again ;  at  any  rate,  I  would  not  like 
to  take  the  chances  voluntarily." 


MRS.   BETSEY  JOHNSON. 


MRS.  BETSEY  JOHNSON. 


129 

Mrs.   Betsey  Johnson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born    in    Waltham,    Mass.,    January    12,   1800. 
Her  parents  were  Joseph  and  Abigail   Hager,  who 
were  also  born  in   that  town  ;  her  mother's  maiden 
name  was   Flagg.     Mis.  Johnson  was  one  of  a  fam- 
ily of  twelve  children.     When  a  grown-up  girl  she 
came  to  Boston  and  married  Timothy  P.  Johnson,  of 
Essex,  Conn.,  who  also  was  one  of  a  large  family, 
there  being-  fourteen  children    in   the  family.     The 
marriage  took  place  October  3,  1821.     To  this  cou- 
ple were  born  ten   children,  seven  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing to-day.     Susan,  born   August  8,  1825  ;  Mary  C, 
born  January  2,  1829  ;  Martha  A.,  born  September 
f>,  1830 ;  John  W.,  born   March  31,  1832 ;  Phebe  C, 
born  November  27,  1834;  Bethia  G.,  born  December 
5,  1840;  Joseph  S.,  born  October  5.,  1847.  Martha 
A.,  married  Albert  Sweetser  and  resides  in  Tarpon, 
Florida.      The  rest  of  the  children,  with  the  excep- 
tion of   Mary  C,  who  married  William  W.  Smith, 
and  Bethia,  who  resides  here,  are  living  in  Wauseca, 
Minnesota.     She  came  to  this  place  with  her  husband 
in  November,  1825,  where  he  established  himself  in 
business  as  a   sailmaker.     4 'Grandma    Johnson,"  as 
she  is  familiarly  called,  notwithstanding  her  advanced 
age,  is  hearty  and  healthy  and   bids  fair  to  see  the 
century.     Her  hearing  is  good,  and  she  reads  with- 
out the   use  of  glasses.     She  remembers  quite  dis- 
tinctly when  she  first  came  here.     At  that  time  there 


130 

was  not  a  wharf  in  the  place,  and  only  one  old,  white 
horse  and  that  was  owned   by  the  parson.     There 
were  no  roads,  and  when  the  first  one  was  laid  out 
some  of  the  people  were    so    angry,    at  what  they 
deemed  a  useless  waste  of  land,  that  they  would  not 
walk  in  it.     There  were  plenty  of   wind  mills  the 
whole  length   of    the    town,    which   were    used  for 
pumping  water  into  shallow  vats  for  the  purpose  of 
making  salt.     In  her  younger  days  she  learned  to 
card,  spin  and  knit,  and  tells  of  how  she  used  to  go 
to  meeting  barefoot  with  shoes  and  stockings  under 
her  arm,  to  be  put  on  when  she  arrived  at  the  meet- 
ing-house.    In  those  days  calico  cost  eighteen  cents 
per  yard  and  a  girl  with  a  dress  of  that  goods  was 
as  proud  of  it  as  a  young  miss  to-day  would  be  with 
a  seal  skin  sacque.     When  a  young  girl  she  used  to 
help  the  men  in  the  hay  field,  and  could   rake  hay 
with  the  best  of  them.     She  had  been  married  ten 
years  before  she  had  a   stove  in  the  house,  and  then 
it  was  one   of  the   old   James,  patent,   costing  f>40, 
with  copper  teakettle   and  boiler.     When   her  hus- 
band was  driven  with  work   she  has  taken  light  sails 
to  make,  for  which  he  used  to  pay   her  men's  wages, 
one  and  half  cents  per   yard.     With  this  money  she 
would  buy  what  she  needed   without  drawing  on  his 
purse,  and   would  occasionally  go  to    Boston,  taking 
her  own  money  to   pa}^   her   way.     In   her  younger 
days  she  used   to  attend  the   Unitarian  church,  and 


131 

was  brought  up  in  that  religion.  She  does  not  take 
kindly  to  corsets  and  bustles  and  other  new-fangled 
things  in  the  feminine  wardrobe  of  the  present  day, 
having  never  worn  one  of  the  above-mentioned  arti- 
cles. She  has  recently  had  her  ninetieth  birthday, 
which  was  made  a  day  of  celebration  by  her  numer- 
ous relatives  and  she  was  made  the  recipient  of 
many  presents.  Of  her  descendants  now  living, 
besides  her  seven  children,  she  has  fourteen  grand- 
children and  ten  great-grandchildren.  Endeared  to 
those  that  know  her,  when  the  Master  calls,  she  will 
be  greatly  missed  from  the  place. 

"Her  children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed ! 
Her  husband,  also,  and  he  praiseth  her." 


JOSEPH  ELLIS. 


The  veteran  Fisherman,  Hunter  and  Trapper. 


133 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  May  15th,  1816  ;  came 
to  this  place  when  a  mere  lad,  and  has  been  a  citizen 
for  over  half  a  century.     He  married  Judith  B.  Hav- 
ender,  a  native  of  this  place,  and  by  her  has  had  a 
family  of  nine  children, — six  boys  and  three  girls, 
five  of  whom  are  now  living,  married  and  have  child- 
ren.     Mr.  Ellis  has  passed  through  all  of  the  grades 
of  a  fisherman's  life  from  boy  to  captain.     He  has 
made  several  voyages  in  his  younger  days  whaling, 
and  always  went  boatsteerer  or  harpooner,  his  skill 
in  striking  whales  always  securing  for  him  that  po- 
sition.     The  most  of  his    active  sea  life  has  been 
spent  in  the  Grand  Bank  fishery,  having  seen  thirty 
consecutive  years'  service,  part  of  which  as  master 
of  schooner  Maiden.       During  his  long  sea  life  he 
was  never  wrecked  nor    met    with  any  disaster  of 
note,  being  alwa}'s  considered   as  one  of  the  lucky 
ones.     When  he  quit  the  sea,  not  wishing  to  remain 
in  idleness,  he  bought  a  small  boat  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  shore  fishing  for  codfish,  and  the  net- 
ting of  mackerel.     The  likeness  shows  him  engaged 
in   mending    one  of  his    nets,   which  he  also  knits, 
saying  "that  it  may  take  longer  to  knit  one  by  hand 
than  by  machinery,  but  a  hand-knit  net  is  worth  two 
of  those  machine-made  things. "     During  the  winter 
season  he  is  by  no  means  idle,  for  with  his  gun  and 
traps  he  finds  plenty  of  game  to  keep  him  busy.    His 
nerves  are  steady,  eyesight  keen  and  when  he  draws 


184 

a  bead  on  game  of  any  kind,  fox,  rabbit  or  birds, 
they  come  to  a  full  stop.  There  are  very  few  gun- 
ners to-day  that  can  shoot  with  "Uncle  Joe,"  and 
none  that  can  beat  him  at  a  mark.  He  has  trapped 
and  taken  from  the  ponds  in  the  rear  of  the  town  a 
hundred  and  twenty  mnskrats  in  one  winter,  and 
occasionally  an  otter,  though  the  last  mentioned 
are  not  plenty,  but  when  "  Uncle  Joe  "  gets  on  the 
trail  of  one,  the  otter's  skin  is  sure  to  be  "  Uncle 
Joe's '  property  and  his  pocket-book  is  from  six  to 
ten  dollars  better  off  from  the  sale  of  the  pelt.  Hale 
and  hearty,  Mr.  Ellis  bids  fair  to  be  with  us  many 
years  yet,  though  men  of  his  type  are  growing  scarce 
and  a  new  generation  is  springing  up  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old-time  typical  fisherman. 


NICKERSON'S  WHALE  AND  MENHADEN  OIL 

WORKS. 


2_ 


This  establishment  is  situated  in  the  Herring  Cove 
near  the  Race  Point  Lighthouse.  It  was  built  in 
1886,  together  with  a  steamer  to  be  used  for  taking 
whales  named  the  A.  B.  Nickerson.  The  total  cost 
of  steamer,  factory  buildings  and  machinery  in  that 
year  was  §12,302.  In  1887  a  bone  mill,  crusher 
and  engine  were  added  at  a  cost  *1,440.  In  1888 
further    improvements    were    made,    steam    hoister, 


136 

seine  boats  and  seines  to  be  used  by  the  steamer  for 
taking  menhaden  were  added  at  a  cost  of  #1,077. 
In  1889  a  wharf  was  extended  from  shore  four  hundred 
feet,  to  enable  vessels  to  lay  and  load  and  the  facto- 
ry steamer  to  bring  the  whales  and  other  fish  along- 
side to  be  handled.  A  hydraulic  press  and  buildings 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  fertilizer  were  put  up 
at  a  cost  of  #2,800.  This  is  one  of  the  most  perfect 
plants  of  that  kind  on  the  coast,  and  during  the  sea- 
son, steamer  and  factory  employ  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  hands,  and  circulate  in  the  town  about  #10,000 
yearly.  It  is  well  worth  a  visit  by  the  tourist,  and 
the  visitor  will  be  courteously  received  and  shown 
the  working  of  the  plant.  The  present  manager 
and  captain  of  the  steamer  is  Captain  Joshua  S. 
Nickerson ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  John  Rosen- 
thal  ;  Board  of  Directors,  J.  F.  Snow,  B.  H.  Dyer, 
Luther  Nickerson. 


BENNETT'S  ICE  PLANT,  WEBBER'S  POND. 


Bennett's  Ice  House  ;  Mr.  Bennett  in  the  Foreground. 

One  of  the  industries  of  the  place  that  has  grown 
up  with  the  town  is  the  ice  business.  There  are  sev- 
eral parties  now  engaged  in  the  business,  but  this 
plant  is  the  most  extensive.  Mr.  Bennett  began 
business  in  1870  by  cutting  and  storing  forty- 
tons,  building  himself  an  ice-house  and  stable.  That 
summer  he  only  disposed  of  one-half  of  his  stock, 


138 

and  it  all  went  to    families.     The    most  money  he 

took  in  for  one  clay's  work,  for  himself  and  team, 

was  one  dollar  and  forty-two  cents.     The  next  year 

there  was  but  a  slight  increase.     On  the  third  year 

a  little  vessel  trade  began,  and  that  fall  a  building 

capable  of  holding  one  thousand  tons  was  put  up  on 

what  is  called  Bennett's  Pond.     For  some  years  this 

supplied  the  town,  but  when   weirs  began  to  be  put 

down  and  fresh  fishing  became  one  of  the  industries 

of  the  place,  the  demand  for  ice  increased.     In  1884 

Webber's  Pond  was  bought,   and  a  building  capable 

of  holding  five  hundred  tons  was  put  up.  The  busi- 
ness now  increased  so  rapidly  that  in  1885  the  build- 
ing was  enlarged  to  one  thousand  tons  capacity. 
In  1886  an  addition  holding  four  hundred  tons  was 
built.  In  1887  a  new  building  capable  of  holding 
one  thousand  tons  was  put  up.  He  has  facilities 
now  for  storing  and  handling  ice,  to  the  amount  of 
five  thousand  tons.  He  employs,  when  harvesting 
the  crop,  from  one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men  and  nine  horses.  When  getting 
in  his  forty  tons  he  used  to  be  a  week,  but  he  now 
puts  away  five  thousand  tons  in  about  three  days, 
paying  for  labor  about  $  1000.  His  family  and  hotel 
trade  amounts  to  about  nine  hundred  tons,  the  bal- 
ance goes  to  the  fish  business.  Six  men  are  kept 
constantly  employed  delivering,  while  he,  with  his 
fine  span  of  coal-black  horses,  attends  to  the  family 
and  hotel  trade.  Since  he  has  been  in  the  business, 
there  have  been  three  years  that  not  a  pound  was 
cut,  the  ponds  not  freezing  sufficiently. 


MATHESON  SISTERS. 


Millinery  and  Fancy  Goods. 


140 

This  building  was  erected  in  1851,  by  Joshua  E. 
and  Gideon  Bowly  for  a  generaloutfittin  g  store  for 
vessels;  a  wharf  was  also  built  in  the  rear.  The  Equi- 
table Insurance  Office  was  also  in  the  building  for 
some  years.  At  the  death  of  Mr.  Joseph  E.  Bowly, 
the  senior  partner,  which  took  place  in  1884,  Cap- 
tain William  Matheson  bought  the  entire  property. 
The  store  was  remodelled  and  the  front  part,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving,  was  fitted  up  for  and  occu- 
pied by  the  sisters  Mamie  S.  and  Jessie  T.  Matheson, 
for  their  business.  In  the  rear  part  of  the  store  is 
the  office  of  Captain  Matheson,  who  controls  and 
manages  a  small  fleet  of  vessels  that  are  engaged  in 
the  Grand  Bank  and  West  India  business.  The 
wharf  that  is  in  the  rear  of  the  building,  extends 
so  far  that  vessels  can  come  to  it  at  low  water.  It 
is  also  the  landing  place  for  the  Boston  steamer  and 
other  excursion  boats. 


D.  A.  MATHESON'S. 


Boots,  Shoes  and  C'lotliinsr  Store. 

This  building  is  of  historic  interest  to  the  town. 
Originally  built  on  Long  Point  as  a  school  and 
meeting-house  in  1846.  When  the  people  moved  off 
the  Point,  it  was  sold  to  Dr.  Jeremiah  Stone,  and 
floated  across  the  harbor  in  scows  and  casks  to  its 
present  site.  In  October  1871,  it  was  in  use  as  the 
Post  Office  and    during    a    severe  gale  an  old  ship 


142 

came  ashore  and  damaged  the  building  badly.  It 
was  repaired  and  used  for  various  purposes  until  the 
present  owner  leased  it.  After  he  had  leased  it  for 
some  years,  he  bought  it  and  made  improvements 
upon  it  in  the  shape  of  additions,  until  but  little 
more  than  the  frame  of  the  old  building  is  left.  The 
second  story  has  been  used  for  a  band  room  and 
school-room,  but  now  the  extensive  business  done  by 
the  owner  requires  the  use  of  the  whole  building. 
The  wharf  shown  in  the  engraving  to  the  right  is 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad  wharf,  built  in  1873. 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


Grocery,  Meat  and  Provision  Market. 

The  first  building  that  occupied  the  site  of  the 
present  building  was  erected  by  Simeon  Gifford 
and  James  Chandler.  The  old  school-house  that 
stood  at  the  foot  of  Town  Hill  formed  a  part  of  the 
building.  Dr.  Albion  S.  Dudley  bought  the  build- 
ing and  carried  on  dentistry  in    one  part,  and  a  peri- 


144 

odical  stove  was  kept  in  the  other  by  John  S.  Lom- 
bard. Reuben  A.  Adams,  later  on,  bought  the  build- 
ing and  sold  it  to  M.  L.  Adams  in  1863.  In  1865 
he  took  down  the  old  building  and  put  up  the  pre- 
sent structure,  where  he  was  in  business  for  eleven 
years:  In  1876  Simeon  C.  Smith  leased  the  build- 
ing  and  carried  on  the  grocery  and  provision  busi- 
ness some  three  years.  During  the  Butler  campaign 
of  '  79  it  was  used  as  a  reading  room  and  Butler 
headquarters;  from  lh80  to  1883  Warren  Fielding 
occupied  it  as  a  grocery  and  provision  store.  In 
1884  the  present  occupant,  John  Adams,  took  pos- 
session ;  the  inside  of  the  building  has  been  remodel- 
ed, and  the  two  stores  connected,  a  large  refrigera- 
tor, or  cooling-room  for  meats,  has  been  built,  and  a 
railway  to  facilitate  the  handling  of  the  same. 
This  is  the  largest  store  of  the  kind  in  the 
town,  and  a  full  assortment  of  everything  that 
pertains  to  that  business  can  always  be  found  there. 


PILGRIM  HOUSE. 


Samuel  S.  Smith,  Proprietor. 

This  is  the  oldest  hotel  in  town,  and  has  been  kept 
as  one  for  over  three-fourths  of  a  century.  The 
date  of  the  building  of  the  original  structure  is  not 
known,  but  indications  are  chat  it  was  built  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  last  century,  or  the  very  first  of 
this.  About  1810  Mr.  Benjamin  Gifford  bought  the 
place  from  the  builder,  Mr.  Phineas  Nickerson,  much 
against  the  wishes  of  Mrs.  Nickerson,  who  express- 
ed a  wish  that  an  earthquake  would  destroy  it.     Sin- 


146 

gularly  enough,  one  did  happen,  which  shook  and 
rattled  the  dishes  and  did  a  slight  amount  of  dam- 
age to  the  building.  In  1847  it  fell  into  the  hands 
of  his  son,  the  present  Hon.  James  Giffbrd,  who 
made  large  and  extensive  alterations  and  improve- 
ments and  continued  on  the  business  for  some  years. 
It  has  been  kept  as  a  hotel  by  several  different  par- 
ties, until  April,  1873,  the  present  proprietor,  Sam- 
uel Sands  Smith,  (Uncle  Sam)  leased  the  building 
from  Mr.  Isaiah  Gifford,  a  son  also  of  the  Benjamin 
GifTord.  From  time  to  time  alterations  and  improve- 
ments have  been  made,  until  now  but  verv  little  re- 
mains  of  the  original  building,  excepting  the  frame 
work  of  the  part  shown  in  the  engraving.  The  house 
has  always  born  an  excellent  reputation,  and  the 
present  proprietor  is  known  from  Maine,  his  native 
state,  to  California,  as  one  who  caters  for  the  pleas- 
ure and  comfort  of  weary  pilgrims  who  come  to  him 
for  rest. 


ST.  PETER'S  AID  SOCIETY. 


Coat  of  Arms  St.  Peter's  Aid  Society.    Photo.  William  31.  Smith. 

This  Society  is  a  mutual  benefit  society  connected 
with,  but  not  governed  bj~,  the  Catholic  church. 
Any  one  can  join  this  Society,  after  passing  the  usual 
examinations  called  for  in  benefit  institutions,  the 
only  stipulation  required  being  that  the  applicant 
must  be  a  member  of  that  church.  The  first  move- 
ment towards  the  organization  of  this  Society  was 
made  in  October,  1874;  names  were  secured  and  in 


148 

March,  1875,  the  society  was  formed  with  sixty  mem- 
bers ;  Rev.  Father  McGuire,  the  prime  mover  in  the 
matter  and  pastor  of  the  church,  at  that  time,  was 
elected  President ;  Walter  Connor,  Vice  President  ; 
Capt.  Joseph  Manta,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

When  it  first  started,  it  paid  to  its  members  five 
dollars  a  week,  for  thirteen  weeks,  when  sick,  and 
twenty-five  dollars  upon  the  death  of  a  member, 
towards  the  funeral  expenses.  Latterly  there  has 
been  a  clause  added  to  the  by-laws,  whereby  the 
sum  of  fifty  cents  is  assesesd  from  each  member,  to 
be  paid  to  whomsoever  a  member  shall  will  it.  One 
assessment  is  always  kept  in  fund  to  be  paid  ont  at 
the  death  of  a  member,  upon  the  payment  of  which 
another  assessment  is  called.  Since  this  law  was 
passed  there  have  been  only  two  deaths  to  date,  (Jan. 
1st,  1890.)  Since  the  organization  of  the  Society 
there  has  been  paid  out  for  sick  benefits  and  funeral 
expenses  nearly  #5000,  exclusive  of  the  fifty-cent 
assessment.  The  Society  now  numbers  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  members,  with  Capt.  Joseph  Manta, 
President;  Victor  J.  Leonard,  Vice  President;  Rich- 
ard J.  Days,  Secretary ;  Frank  J.  Corea,  Treasurer. 
The  initiation  fee  is  five  dollars,  with  twenty-five 
cents  monthly  dues;  this  is  all  the  expense  except 
the  fifty-cent  assessment,  upon  the  death  of  a  mem- 
ber. The  members  are  mostly  Portuguese,  and 
every  year  they  hold  a  regular  meeting  and  turn  out 


149 

on  a  parade.  They  are  a  fine  body  of  men,  a  credit 
to  any  town,  and  as  their  annual  parade  and  muster 
takes  place  during  the  winter,  when  the  largest  part 
are  at  home,  they  always  show  full  ranks.  Each 
man  is  dressed  in  regalia,  the  American  flag  fore- 
most in  the  procession,  followed  by  the  Society's 
banner  and  that  by  the  flag-  of  their  native  land.  In 
the  evening  of  that  day  an  entertainment  of  some 
kind  is  usually  gotten  up,  ending  with  a  ball,  in 
which  many  of  their  native  dances  as  well  as  others 
are  given  The  order  has  leased  the  old  skating 
rink,  where  regular  meetings  are  held,  and  made  it 
their  headquarters  under  the  name  of  St.  Peter's 
Hall. 

Perhaps  it  will  not  be  amiss  in  this  place  to  make 
especial  mention  of  a  race  that  forms  a  large  perceir 
tage  of  the  population  of  this  town.  They  are 
mostly  from  the  Azorean  Islands,  and  the  first  who 
came  here  were  brought  by  our  whalers  that  put  into 
those  Islands  to  recruit  provisions  and  crew.  The 
first  one  to  come  to  this  place  who  is  living  at  pre- 
sent is  Captain  Joseph  Cross,  who  was  born  in  Lis- 
bon, Portugal,  in  1813,  came  here  in  1826,  and  fol- 
lowed the  sea  for  a  living,  passing  through  all  of  the 
several  positions  up  to  master,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  many  years.  He  sailed  quite  a  number  of 
different  vessels,  and  was  counted  one  of  our  most 
successful  captains.     He  married  his  wife,  who  was 


150 

born  here,  and  always  made  this  his  home.  For  the 
past  few  years  he  has  retired  from  active  service. 
Mr.  Frank  G.  Cook  has  been  here  nearly  forty  years  ; 
he  came  in  a  whaler  from  Pico,  one  of  the  Azores, 
where  he  was  born.  Mr.  Cook  has  spent  most  of 
his  life  on  board  of  a  vessel,  sometimes  in  the  whal- 
ing business,  and  also  made  several  voyages  to  the 
Grand  Banks.  The  position  he  has  held  was  cook 
and  steward,  one  that  he  so  ably  filled  that  his  ser- 
vices were  always  in  demand  at  a  good  salary.  He 
at  present  is  keeping  a  grocery  and  provision  store 
on  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Bradford  streets. 
These  two  men  are  but  a  sample  of  the  many  who 
are  now  here.  Of  the  fresh  fishing  fleet  of  over 
forty  sail  of  vessels,  some  of  which  are  yachts  in 
build,  nearly  all  of  the  captains,  and  a  large  majori- 
ty of  the  crew  are  of  this  nationality,  and  make  a 
success  of  that  industry.  They  follow  this  branch  of 
the  fishing  business  nearly  all  the  year  round,  and  in 
midwinter  visit  George's  Bank.  Good  citizens,  pru- 
dent and  saving,  their  indusry  can  be  no  better 
proven  than  by  referring  to  the  large  number  of  cot- 
tages that  have  been  built  by  them  the  past  few 
years.  They  and  their  immediate  descendants  are 
fully  one-half  of  the  population  of  this  place. 
They  have  brought  here  with  them  some  of  their 
old  country  customs  and  also  religion.  A  fine  church 
building,  with  a  dwelling-house  near  by,  is  their  pro- 


151 

perty,  and  they  have  a  surplus  in  the  church  treasury. 
Though  retaining  some  of  their  old  customs  and  a 
love  for  their  mother  country,  still  their  loyalty  and 
fidelity  to  the  country  of  their  adoption  is  unques- 
tionable, in  proof  of  which  can  be  mentioned  those 
that  went  from  here  during  the  rebellion,  some  of 
whom  never  returned,  but  died  on  the  battle  field. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


Catholic  Church  and  Parsonage.    Photo  by  William  31.  Smith. 

With  the  influx  of  a  foreign  element  the  Roman 
Catholic  creed  came  here.  For  some  time  they  were 
few  in  number,  and  services  were  held  in  private 
dwellings.  The  first  priest  to  come  here  and  hold 
services  was  the  Rev.  Father  Phinota,  who  came 
here  in  August,  1852,  and  celebrated  the  first  mass 
in  Dennis  Cahill's  house  on  Franklin  Street.  Mass 
has  also  been  said  in  the  house  owned  by  Thomas 


153 

Welch  and  in  the  Pilgrim  House.  The  same  year 
(1852)  a  Sunday  School  was  started  at  Mr.  Cahill's 
with  three  of  his  children  as  members.  Mr.  Jere- 
miah Quinn  was  the  organizer  and  first  teacher. 
This  continued  until  the  parish  house  was  fitted, 
when  mass  and  Sunday  School  were  held  there. 
The  building  is  now  known  as  Snow's  Block,  situa- 
ted on  Bradford  street  and  used  as  a  tenement  house. 
As  the  society  increased,  the  place  became  too  small 
and  the  building  known  as  Adams's  Hall  was  leased 
and  fitted  up  for  church  services.  In  this  building 
services  were  held  until  it  was  burned,  which  was 
March  4th,  1875.  A  new  and  commodious  church 
building  was  at  that  time  in  process  of  construction, 
for  the  number  of  members  had  largely  increased  by 
the  coming  in  of  the  Portuguese  from  the  Azores. 
The  present  church  building  was  completed  on 
October  11th  of  that  vear.  The  first  service  held 
in  the  Adams'  Hall  building  was  on  December  24th, 
1871,  Rev.  Father  O'Connor  conducting  the  services, 
who  succeded  Rev.  Father  Phinota.  This  Rev. 
Father  Cornelius  O'Connor  did  a  great  deal  of  good 
for  his  flock  during  his  stay,  a  burial  ground  was  pur- 
chased and  laid  out  and  consecrated.  The  next  to 
follow  him  was  Father  J.  J.  McGuire,  who  inaugurat- 
ed the  St.  Peter's  Aid  Society  of  which  mention  is 
made  in  another  place.  Fathers  Tuite  and  Ward 
succeded  him  in  turn,  followed  by  Rev.  Father  T.  P. 


154 

Elliott,  under  whose  administration  the  present 
parish  house  was  built  near  the  church.  The  present 
incumbent  is  Rev.  Father  B.  F.  McCahill,  who  appar- 
ently has  the  welfare  of  his  parishioners,  both  spiritual 
and  temporal,  at  heart.  At  present  there  are  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred  people  connected  with 
this  church.  A  fine  organ,  presided  over  by  a  Prov- 
incetown  lady,  with  a  choir  of  excellent  singers  ren- 
der the  celebration  of  High  Mass,  according  to  the 
Catholic  ritual,  in  a  very  solemn  and  effective  man- 
ner. 


CENTRAL  HOUSE. 


James  A.  Reed  Proprietor. 

This  hotel  is  the  only  one  in  the  place  that  is  sit- 
uated on  the  Main  street  and  also  the  shore  beach. 
It  was  built  by  Timothy  P.  Johnson,  but  nothing 
definite  can  be  found  as  to  the  date  of  building.  It 
was  first  used  as  a  public  hall  where  shows  and  en- 
tertainments were  given.  At  one  time  a  bowling 
alley  and  saloon  was  kept  in  it,  under  the  manage- 


156 
ment  of  William  Crowell.  In  1868  it  was  purchased 
from  the  heirs  of  Timothy  P.  Johnson  by  Allen  Reed, 
and  the  whole  building  underwent  an  alteration  ; 
it  was  enlarged,  a  billiard  hall  attached  to  it  and 
more  sleeping  rooms  added,  making  it  at  that  time 
the  largest  hotel  in  the  place.  Mr.  Reed  managed 
the  business  until  his  death,  which  took  place  in 
1881,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Mr.  James 
A.  Reed,  the  present  proprietor  and  manager,  who 
also  has  held  the  position  of  Customs  Officer  and 
conducted  the  business  from  a  room  fitted  in  the 
building  for  that  purpose.  This  house  has  accommo- 
dations for  about  seventy-five  guests,  has  a  fine 
billiard  and  pool-room  attached,  ladies'  parlor  and 
sitting-room,  gents'  reading  and  smoking-room,  fronts 
the  principal  street  of  the  town,  while  from  the 
veranda  at  the  rear  a  fine  view  of  the  harbor  and 
its  shipping  can  be  obtained  ;  the  facilities  for  bath- 
ing are  also  good. 


- 


CENTENARY  CHURCH. 

The  Methodists  had  so  increased  up  to  1846  that 
it  was  thought  advisable  to  make  two  separate 
churches,  and  place  one  of  them  towards  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  town  to  accomodate  the  residents 
there.  About  that  time  the  Christian  Union,  or  as 
they  were  afterwards  called  Universalists,  built  their 
present  building  and  offered  the  old  building  for 
sale.  Rufus  L.  Thatcher,  Freeman  Atkins,  and 
Samuel  Soper,  Methodists,  bought  the  old  Christian 
Union  Church  building  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1848.  The  price  paid  was  #1,400.  The  building 
was  throughly  overhauled  and  remodelled,  the  cupo- 
la taken  off  and  a  steeple  put  on  instead,  a  new  front 
was  made  to  the  building,  and  a  bell  placed  in  the 
belfry.  A  church  was  then  formed  by  the  Metho- 
dist residents  at  the  western  end  of  the  town,  num- 
bering about  one  hundred  communicants ;  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Fox  was  appointed  by  conference  to  the  pasto- 
rate, and  the  Church  was  dedicated  in  that  year  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Wesley  Chapel.  The  church 
membership  increased,  and  it  was  thought  advisable 
to  build  the  present  structure,  which  was  begun  in 


158 

1865.  The  bell  was  removed  from  the  old  chapel 
and  placed  in  the  present  church  tower.  The  church 
was  dedicated  in  June,  1866.  Rev.  G.  W.  Bridge 
was  the  first  pastor,  followed  by  G.  M.  Hamlin  in 
1868.  The  church  has  been  very  prosperous,  and 
at  present  writing  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy -seven,  with  parishioners  that  attend  and 
help  support  the  gospel  enough  to  make  up  the  total 
amount  of  two  hundred  and  fifty.  There  are 
twenty-seven  officers  and  teachers  connected  with 
the  church  and  Sunday  School.  The  number  of 
Sunday  School  children  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  ;  Andrew  T.  Williams  is  the  Superintendent. 
The  Sunday  School  library  contains  five  hundred 
volumes.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Samuel  McBur- 
ney,  is  in  his  second  year  of  pastorate. 


JOHN   L.   RICH'S. 


Emporium,  Clothing.  Boots  and  Shoes,  ¥.U- 


160 

This  building  was  built  in  1845  and  '46  by  James 
Chandler,  Lemuel  Cook,  and  Joshua  Bowly  ;  the 
wharf  attached  was  called  Market  Wharf ;  the  busi- 
ness done  was  general  fitters  of  vessels  and  buyers 
of  cod  and  mackerel.  A  sail-loft  was  also  connect- 
ed at  one  time  in  the  building,  the  work  carried  on 
under  the  management  of  Benjamin  Allstrum.  The 
general  fishing  business  was  carried  on  by  different 
parties,  the  last  being  Joseph  P.  Johnson  and  Reu- 
ben F.  Cook,  who  conducted  it  for  five  years.  In 
1857  the  entire  place  was  bought  by  Captain  Ben- 
jamin Rider  and  was  made  a  lumber  wharf  and  the 
upper  part  of  the  building  fitted  up  for  a  dwelling. 
It  remained  in  his  possession  until  his  death,  when  it 
reverted  to  his  heirs,  who  are  the  present  owners. 
The  lower  floor  has  been  used  for  various  kinds  of 
business, — grocery,  fancy  articles,  etc.  In  1873  the 
present  occupant  leased  the  left  side  portion  of  the 
lower  floor  and  fitted  it  for  boot  and  shoe  business  ; 
as  business  increased  the  rest  of  the  building  was 
leased  and  fitted  up  for  the  clothing  and  gents'  fur- 
nishing goods, —  this  was  done  in  1887.  Mr.  Rich 
lias  now  been  carrying  on  a  successful  business  here 
for  seventeen  years  and  keeps  one  of  the  largest 
stocks  in  his  line  in  the  town. 


UN1VERSALIST  CHURCH. 
A  church  was  built  in  1829  on  the  plot  of  ground 
now  the  site  of  the  house  occupied  by  Captain  Ab- 
ner  B.  Rich  on  Commercial  street,  at  the  head  of 
Central  wharf.  This  church  was  called  the  Chris- 
tian Union  Church  and  cost  when  completed  #3,105. 
One  Jonathan  Farr  preached  the  first  sermon,  April 
19th,  1829,  and  also  on  the  following  Sabbath,  the 
26th.  He  was  succeded  by  a  Mr.  Wiswell,  and  a 
Mr.  Thomas  Snow,  who  were  candidates.  The  pul- 
pit was  occupied  by  candidates  during  the  remaining 
part  of  1829  and  until  July,  1830.  During  the  pe- 
riod of  candidates  one,  Stephen  Bailey,  was  called, 
who  preached  one  Sabbath,  but  refused  to  be  located 
unless  the  name  was  changed  to  something  designat- 
ing a  Trinitarian  society.  This  the  society  refused 
to  do,  and  other  candidates  preached  until  Mr.  A. 
Davis  was  located  in  July,  1830.  The  dedication  of 
the  church  took  place  November  3d,  1830,  Rev.  H. 
Hersey,  of  Barnstable,  preaching  the  dedication  ser- 
mon, after  which  the  church  was  organized  and  the 
following  officers  were  elected.  Clerk,  David  Fair- 
banks ;  collector,   Samuel   Parker ;  treasurer,  Jona- 


162 

than  Nickerson ;  assessors  of  taxes,  Charles  O. 
Brown,  Thomas  Lothrop,  Henry  Williai'd;  wardens, 
Elisha  Nickerson,  Samuel  Parker;  sexton,  Elisha 
Nickerson.  Rev.  Mr.  Davis  preached  until  1838, 
when  Rev.  John  Bouvee  Dodds  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  church,  where  he  remained  six  consec- 
utive years.  From  18-tt  until  the  present  church 
was  built  there  were  several  candidate  preachers,  but 
their  names  were  not  recorded.  The  present  struc- 
ture was  built  in  1847,  and  the  clock  now  in  the 
church  was  presented  at  that  time  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Atkins,  a  man  whose  name  is  often  mentioned  in 
the  church  records.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  church,  and  had  reached  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-seven  years.  The  name  of  the  society 
was  then  changed  to  the  Universalist  society  and 
Rev.  Emmons  Patriclge  was  the  first  to  preach  in  the 
new  church.  This  church  has  sent  out  since  its  or- 
ganization more  preachers  of  the  gospel  than  all  the 
other  churches  in  the  place  combined.  Some  of 
them  have  become  men  of  note,  and  have  acquired  a 
worthy  notoriety  in  other  places.  Rev.  William 
Henry  Ryder,  who  recently  died  in  Chicago,  a  man 
that  was  well  known  in  this  and  other  countries,  was 
from  this  church.  William  Stull,  Joseph  Hatton 
Weeks,  William  Arnold,  Charles  Galacar,  Gamaliel 
Collins,  who  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  was 
chaplain  in  the  service ;  William  Henry  Ryder  and 


163 

Charles  W.  Ryder,  sons  of  Godfrey  and  Phebe 
Ryder,  and  nephews  of  Rev.  William  Henry  Ryder  ; 
R.  Perry  Bush,  and  Caleb  Fisher,  who  though 
at  present  has  not  finished  his  studies,  shows 
talent  in  his  sermons  and  bids  fair  to  become  a  use- 
ful and  noted  member  of  che  ministry. 


KING  HIRAM  LODGE    FREE    AND  ACCEPTED 

MASONS. 

This  organization  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  place. 
Its  charter  was  signed  by  Paul  Revere.  The  first 
record  we  find  is  dated  December  12th,  1795,  John 
Young,  W.  M.  A  code  of  by-laws  was  drawn  up 
and  adopted  March  21st,  1796,  and  the  following 
officers  chosen  :  Jonathan  Cook,  S.  W.  ;  Benjamin 
Wilcox,  J.  W. ;  Samuel  Cook,  Secretary;  Jonathan 
Nickerson,  Gen.  Steward ;  Thomas  Smalley,  Jr. 
Steward  ;  George  Nickerson,  Gen.  Deacon ;  Abner 
Dunham,  Jr.  Deacon;  Solomon  Cook,  Treasurer; 
Stephen  Atkins,  Tyler.  Work  was  begun  with 
twenty-six  members,  at  the  house  of  Solomon  Cook, 
which  stood  near  the  site  of  the  First  National  Bank, 
December  20th,  1796.  On  the  records  I  find  that 
it  was  "  Voted  to  bild  a  lodge  house  March  23d, 
1797."  "  Brother  Allen  Hinckley  should  bild  the 
lodge  house  for  the  same  sum  of  money  as  the  Well- 
fleet  lodge  house  was  built,  ten  feet  bigger,  and  that 
in  proportion."  All  the  members  which  is  twenty- 
six  are  to  build  a  lodge  house.  "Voted  that  Bros. 
Thomas  Smalley,  Allen   Hinckley,  Jonathan  Nicker- 


165 

son,  should  buy  the  stuff  to  bild  the  lodge  house. 
It  was  also  voted  to  bild  the  building  not  only  for 
a  lodge  house,  but  also  for  a  school-house"  This 
building  was  put  up  by  the  brothers  at  the  foot  of 
High  Pole  Hill,  and  is  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of 
Thomas  G.  Atkins ;  a  considerable  lot  of  the  origi- 
nal frame  work  and  boards  are  in  the  present  build- 
ing. The  brothers,  in  a  body,  carried  all  of  the  tim- 
ber, planks  and  boards  from  the  shore  to  the  site, 
on  their  backs.  The  building  was  finished  as  agreed 
upon,  and  a  school  kept  in  the  lower  story.  Here 
the  brotherhood  did  their  work  until  the  persecution, 
known  as  the  Morgan  time,  drove  them  out.  A  few 
of  the  band  would  then  meet  occasionally,  where- 
ever  a  place  could  be  found,  and  by  this  means  tliev 
held  their  charter  and  are  now  working  under  their 
old  original  document.  When  the  persecution 
ceased,  the  building  getting  old  and  dilapidated,  it 
was  sold  and  the  brothers  met  for  business  in  what 
is  now  called  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  where  they  remain- 
ed until  their  present  building  was  finished  March, 
1870.  The  present  board  of  officers  (January  1st, 
1890)  is  as  follows: 

Jerome  Smith, W.  M. 
Simeon  C.  Smith,  S.  W. 
William  Curran,  J.  W. 
A.  Louis  Putnam,  Treasurer. 
J.  Hersey  Dyer,  Secretary. 


166 
Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Chaplain. 
Joseph  Whitcnmb,  Marshall. 
George  W.  Holbrook,  S.  D. 
Dr.  W.  S.  Birge,  J.  D. 
Francis  P.  Cook,  S.  Steward. 
J.  H.    Li  verm  ore,  Jr.  Steward 
John  VV.  Beatty,  Tyler. 

The  Joseph  Warren  Royal  Arch  Chapter  was  in- 
stituted June  8th.  1869,  with  the  following  compan- 
ions ;is  the  charter  members.  Jeremiah  Stone, 
Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Lauren  Young.  Charles  Young, 
Joshua  E.  Bowlv,  George  T.  Wyer,  Eben  T.  At- 
wood,  Warren  Newcomb,  Joshua  F.  Tobey,  James 
E.  Rich,  Joseph  S.  Atwood,  Joseph  B.  Baxter, 
William  H.  H.  Weston,  Joseph  H.  Bird,  John  W. 
Atwood,  Sylvester  D.  Rich,  Albert  Sweetser,  John 
M.  Freeman,  Darius  A.  Newcomb,  Frederick  W. 
Harding. 

The  Past  High  Priests  of  this  chapter,  with  the 
dates  of  service,  are  as  follows. 

Jeremiah  Stone,  M.  D.,  from  1869  —  1870 
Joseph  P.  Johnson,  "    1870  —  1873 

Lauren  Young,  "    1873  —  1874 

John  W.  Atwood,  "    1874—1876 

John  M.  Crocker,  "    1876  —  1877 

Lauren  Young,  "    1877  —  1878 

Horace  A.  Freeman,         "    1878  —  1879 
Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  "    1879  —  1880 


167 

Artemus  P.  Hannura,  "  1880  —  1881 
Frederick  A.  PL  Gifford,  "  1881  —  1882 
Joseph  H.  Dyer,  "    1882—1883 

Frederick  A.  H.  Gifford,  »  1883  —  1884 
Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  "    1884—1887 

James  E.  Rich,  "    1887  —  1888 

Frederick    A.    H.    Gifford,   November,   1888; 
now  in  office,  January  1st,  1890. 

The  following  list  of  officers  was  elected  Novem- 
ber, 1889,  for  the  ensuing  year. 

Frederick  A.  H.  Gifford,  M.  E.  H.  P. 
Artemus  P.  Hannum,  E.  K. 
Angus  McKay,  E.  S. 
Joseph  Prosper  Johnson,  Treasurer. 
James  A.  Small,  Secretary. 
John  G.  Whitcoinb,  Chaplain. 
Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  C.  of  H. 
Joseph  H.  Dyer,  P.  S. 
Jonathan  H.  Little,  R.  A.  C. 
Moses  N.  Gifford,  M.  3d  Veil. 
John  Rosenthal,  M.  2d  Veil. 
Eli  McKav,  M.  1st  Veil. 
Francis  P.  Cook,  S.  Steward. 
Hezekiah  P.  Hughes,  J.  Steward. 
Sentinel,  John  W.  Beatty. 
This  chapter  holds    its    regular    convocations  on 
the  first  Friday  of  each  month,  and  the  annual  con- 
vocation first  Friday  in  November. 


INDEPENDENT  ORDER  OF  ODD  FELLOWS. 

On  October  29th,  1845,  eleven  members  of  this 
Order  met  in  the  store  loft  of  one  Leander  Crosbv,  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  lodge  in  this  place. 
The  store  stood  on  the  vacant  lot  between  what  is 
now  Macool's  cooper  shop  and  Bangs's  tin-ware  and 
stove  shop ;  the  lower  part  of  the  building  was  used 
by  Mr.  Crosby  for  carrying  on  the  tin-ware  business. 
The  names  of  these  persons  were  Leander  Crosby, 
owner  of  the  store,  Rev.  Emmons  Patridge,  pastor 
of  the  Universalist  Church,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  one 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  at  that  time,  Josiah 
Stnrgis,  Kilborn  W.  Freeman,  Warren  Smith,  Josiah 
S.  Fuller,  David  Crowell,  John  L.  Lothrop,  Joshua 
Small,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Crosby.  A  charter  was  applied 
for  and  granted,  and  on  the  21st  of  November  fol- 
lowing, the  lodge  was  instituted  and  called  the 
Marine  Lodge,  No.  96.  The  officers  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  that  instituted  this  lodge  were  Merrill  A. 
Thompson,  Grand  Master,  assisted  by  George  Alex. 
Smith,  Dist.  Dept.  Grand  Master,  and  the  following 
members  of  the  order  were  admitted :  Eben  S. 
Smith,  William  A.  Atkins,  William  Smith,  Thomas 


169 

Lothrop,  Jonathan  Nickerson,  Jr.,  John  Smith, 
Warren  Newcomb.  Thus  the  lodge  at  its  organiz- 
ation comprised  only  eighteen  members.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  first  officers  of  the  Lodge  : 

Leander  Crosby,  N.  G. 

Josiah  Sturgis,  V.  G. 

Emmons  Patridge,  Secretary. 

Jonathan  Crosby,  Treasurer. 

Josiah  S.  Fuller,  Warden. 

Eben  S.  Smith,  Conductor. 

Kilborn  W.  Freeman,  O.  G. 

Joseph  P.  Johnson,  I.  G. 

William  A.  Atkins,  R.  S.  N.  G. 

Warren  Smith,  L.  S.  N.  G. 

Jonathan  Nickerson,  R.  S.  V.  G. 

William  Smith,  L.  S.  V.  G. 

Thomas  Lothrop,  R.  S.  S. 

John  L.  Lothrop,  L.  S.  S. 
Their  present  building  was  bought  in  1846  and 
the  upper  part  fitted  up  for  a  lodge  room.  The 
building  was  built  in  1832  by  a  share  company  and 
called  the  "Village  Hall,"  and  was  used  for  public 
meetings,  dances  and  social  gatherings.  This  order 
lias  rapidly  increased  and  now  numbers  about  two 
hundred  and  twenty  members,  being  the  largest  or- 
ganization outside  of  the  churches  in  this  place. 
Besides  caring  for  a  sick  brother,  there  is  an  insur- 
ance among    the    brotherhood    connected    with  the 


170 

order.    The  meetings  are  held  weekly  on  Wednesday 
evenings.     The  present  officers  of  the  Order  are : 

Otis  M.  Knowles,  N.  G. 
Franklin  E.  Hill,  V.  G. 
Francis  S.  Miller,  Secretary. 
Heman  S.  Cook,  Treasurer. 
Williard  T.  Burkett,  Warden. 
Thomas  W.  Sparks,  Conductor. 
George  W.  Tuttle,  O.  G. 
Nathaniel  H.  Small,  I.  G. 
David  B.  Rich,  R.  S.  N.  G. 
John  Rosenthal,  L.  S.  N.  G. 
Jesse  Nickerson,  R.  S.  V.  G. 
Silas  C.  Mott,  L.  S.  V.  G. 
Lewis  B.  Pinckney,  R.  S.  S. 
William  C.  Sparrow,  L.  S.  S. 
James  A.  Small,  Chaplain. 
Fred.  E.  Williams,  P.  G. 


PROF.  GEORGE   WASHINGTON    READY  SEE- 

ING  THE    SERPENT. 


172 

In  1886,  Professor  Ready  alleges  that  he  saw  this 
monster  and  furnished  a  reporter  with  the  facts, 
which  were  written  out  and  published  in  the  Cape 
Cod  Item,  at  Yarmouthport,  from  which  paper  it  was 
largely  copied  into  other  papers  throughout  the 
country.  I  believe  that  there  has  been  no  reliable 
account  of  the  appearance  of  the  serpent  since.  At 
considerable  expense,  I  have  been  able  to  secure  the 
original  document,  together  with  the  professor's 
likeness  and  affidavit. 

SEA    SERPENT    IN    PROVINCETOWN. 

The  recent  earthquakes  have  so  disturbed  the 
bottom  of  ths  ocean,  that  many  of  the  huge  creat- 
ures which  it  is  believed  exist  there  have  come  to 
surface.  Sea  serpents  and  other  nondescript  mon- 
sters, it  is  alleged,  have  been  seen  in  various  places 
besides  Marblehead,  the  sea  serpent's  home.  The 
latest  and  most  colossal  in  dimensions  has  visited 
Provincetown.  Mr.  George  W.  Ready,  a  well-known 
citizen  here,  was  going  from  the  town  to  the  back- 
side of  the  Cape,  and  in  crossing  one  of  the  sand- 
dunes,  or  hills,  saw  a  commotion  in  the  water,  about 
a  half  a  mile  from  the  shore  in  the  Herring  Cove.  It 
looked  like  a  whirlpool  and  from  his  standpoint  ap- 
peared to  be  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  from  the 
center  of  which  jets  of  spray,  looking  like  steam, 
were  ejected  to  the  height  of  fifty  feet.  Intently 
watching  this  strange  phenomenon,  he  presently  saw 


173 

a  huge  head  appear  above  the  surface,  and  point  for 
the  shore.  The  head  was  as  large  as  a  two  hundred 
gallon  cask,  concave  on  the  under  side  and  convex 
on  the  upper.  Mr.  Ready  saw  the  creature  coming 
towards  the  shore  and  secreted  himself  in  a  clump  of 
beach  plum  bushes,  where  he  got  a  good  view  of  the 
monster.  The  creature  swam  to  the  shore  with  a 
slow  and  undulating  motion  and  passed  within  about 
thirty  feet  of  where  Mr.  Ready  was  secreted.  It 
was  about  three  hundred  feet  long,  and  in  the  thick- 
est part,  which  was  about  the  middle,  he  judged  as 
it  passed  him  to  be  about  twelve  feet  in  diameter. 
The  body  was  covered  with  scales  as  large  as  the 
head  of  a  fish  barrel,  and  were  colored  alternately 
green,  red  and  blue.  They  did  not  overlap  each 
other,  but  seemed  as  if  they  were  joined  together  by 
a  ligature  some  four  inches  broad.  The  most  curi- 
ous feature  was  the  head.  The  open  mouth  disclosed 
four  rows  of  teeth,  which  glistened  like  polished 
ivory,  and  were  at  least  two  feet  long,  while  on  the 
extreme  end  of  the  head  or  nose,  extended  a  tusk 
or  horn  at  least  eight  feet  in  length.  The  creature 
had  six  eyes  as  large  as  good-sized  dinner  plates,  and 
they  were  placed  at  the  end  of  moveable  projections, 
so  they  were,  at  least,  three  feet  from  the  head.  In 
the  creatures  moving  along  these  projections  were  con- 
tinually on  the  move  so  that  the  reptile  could  see  be- 
fore, behind,  and  sideways,  at  the  same  time.     Three 


174 

of  the  eyes  were  of  a  iiery  reel  hue,  while  the  others 
were  of  a  pale  green.  A  strong  sulphurous  odor 
accompanied  him,  and  intense  heat  was  emitted,  so 
much,  that  the  bushes  and  grass  over  which  he  moved 
have  the  appearance  of  being  scorched  with  fire. 
When  the  tail  came  out  of  the  water  it  was  seen  to 
be  of  a  V  shape,  the  broadest  part  towards  the  body, 
to  which  it  was  joined  by  a  small  bony  cartilage 
about  twenty  feet  long,  and  only  ten  inches  in  diam- 
eter. This  tail  on  the  broad  part  was  studded  with 
very  hard,  bony  scales,  shaped  like  the  teeth  of  a 
mowing  machine,  or  reaper,  about  one  foot  long,  and 
eight  inches  at  the  base,  and  cut  everything  smooth 
to  the  ground  as  it  was  dragged  over  the  surface  ; 
pine  and  oak  trees,  nearly  one  foot  in  diameter,  were 
cut  off  as  smoothly  as  if  done  by  a  saw,  and  have 
the  appearance  of  being  seared  over  with  a  hot 
iron.  The  creature  made  for  one  of  the  large  fresh 
water  ponds  called  Pasture  Pond.  When  in  the 
center  the  head,  which  had  all  the  time  been  raised 
some  thirty  feet  in  the  air,  began  slowly  to  descend 
and  was  soon  under  water,  the  body  slowly  follow- 
ing it.  As  the  tail  disappeared,  the  water  commenced 
to  recede  from  the  shore  till  the  pond  was  left  com- 
pletely dry  with  a  large  hole  in  the  center  some 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  perfectly  circular,  down 
which  sounding  leads  have  been  lowered  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  fathoms  and  no  bottom  found.     By 


175 

standing  on  the  brink  of  the  hole,  what  appears  to 
be  water,  can  be  seen  at  a  long  distance  down.  Prep- 
arations are  being  made  to  investigate  the  matter, 
and  thousands  are  going  to  see  and  examine  the 
track  of  the  huge  sea  monster.  For  fear  that  this 
statement  should  be  doubted,  and  any  one  try  to 
contradict  it,  I  here  append  a  copy  of  Mr.  Ready's 
affidavit  and  signature  : 

"  I,  George  Washington  Ready,  do  testify  that  the 
foregoing  statement  is  correct.  It  is  a  true  descrip- 
tion of  the  serpent  as  he  appeared  to  me  on  that 
morning,  and  I  was  not  unduly  excited  by  liquor  or 
otherwise."  George  W.  Ready. 

NOTE.    Mr.  Ready  resides  at  the    head   of  Pearl  Street  in  this  place, 
and  can  be  interviewed  on  the  subject  at  any  time. 


INTERESTING  ANECDOTES. 


REMARKABLE   CIRCUMSTANCE. 

The  schooner  Bion,  Capt.  Isaac  Mayo,  was  in  Bos- 
ton fitting  for  a  voyage  to  the  Grand  Banks.  After 
having  obtained  her  fittings,  started  to  come  to  Prov- 
incetown.  The  wind  was  to  the  north-east  with  a 
drizzling  rain.  After  passing  Boston  Light  the  course 
was  laid  for  Wood  End.  Night  was  coming  on  and 
a  strong  flood  tide  setting  up  the  bay.  After  sailing 
about  the  time  required,  to  make  the  Light  on  Long 
Point  a  light  was  seen  off  the  port  bow,  which  was 
taken  for  it.  After  passing  it,  the  vessel  was  hauled 
on  the  wind  and  stood  over  to  what  was  supposed  to 
be  the  Truro  shore.  Judging  that  they  were  near 
enough  the  vessel  was  tacked  and  headed  up,  as  they 
thought,  for  anchorage  off  the  wharves.  After  sailing 
what  was  thought  to  be  the  right  distance  to  the 
anchorage,  the  anchor  was  let  go  and  sails  furled.  It 
being  late  at  night  and  storming,  the  crew  concluded 
that  they  would  not  go  ashore  until  morning.  When 
morning  came,  upon  coming  on  deck  a  strange  sight 
met  their  eyes :  the  vessel  was  aground,  and  a  nura- 


177 

ber  of  large  rocks  were  out  of  the  water  just  ahead 
of  the  vessel.  A  low,  sandy  beach  could  be  seen 
through  the  mist,  but  it  was  all  a  strange  place  to 
captain  and  crew.  A  boat  was  lowered,  the  shore 
reached  and  examined,  but  still  no  one  could  tell 
where  they  were.  Returning  on  board  they  waited 
until  the  vessel  floated  with  the  flood  tide,  when  the 
wind  hauled  to  the  north  and  the  weather  cleared 
off.  Far  away  to  the  north  could  be  seen  the  outlines 
of  the  land  at  Provincetown  harbor.  Sail  was  made 
and  home  finally  reached.  The  strong  flood  tide  had 
set  the  vessel  up  the  bay  and  Billingsgate  Light  was 
the  light  taken  for  Long  Point.  Standing  over 
towards  the  East  ham  shore  they  tacked,  and  coming 
through  the  narrow  channel  of  James's  Harbor  had 
anchored  on  the  outside,  near  the  rocks  on  the  south- 
ern part  of  Great  Island.  The  channel  through 
which  they  came  is  very  narrow,  not  more  than  two 
vessels'  length  in  width  and  a  large  rock  in  the  mid- 
dle. This  channel  is  only  available  on  extreme  high 
water,  and  then  only  used  by  very  skilful  pilots  in 
the  day-time.  There  are  parties  residing  here  to-day 
that  were  on  board  the  vessel,  and  made  the  passage 
with  Capt.  Mayo. 

QUICK  VOYAGE. 

Schooner  Estelle,  Capt.  James  E.  Rich,  made  the 
voyage  from  Boston  to  Bermuda,  discharged  and  load- 
ed a  full  cargo  and  returned  to  Boston,  making  the 


178 

round  voyage  in  thirteen  days.     The  quickest  time 
between  the  two  ports  on  record. 

TOUGH    STEAK.. 

Old  John  S.  was  a  noted  character,  and  some  of  his 
yarns,  that  he  was  wont  to  spin,  were  noted  fur  their 
being  too  strong  to  be  true.  Around  the  stove  in 
some  of  the  stores  during  the  long  winter  evenings, 
he  would  tell  them  for  hours  on  a  stretch,  when  he 
could  find  listeners.  One  that  he  often  told  was 
this :  A  butcher  had  sold  the  old  man  some  meat, 
and  he  was  telling  the  crowd  how  tough  it  was. 
He  said,  tk  I  carried  it  home  and  fried  it,  but  could 
not  do  anything  with  it.  The  next  day  I  biled  it  all 
day  long,  and  at  night  it  was  tougher  than  the  day 
before.  I  then  threw  it  out  of  doors  and  a  do£  com- 
ing  along  tackled  it.  The  dog  took  one  end  of  the 
meat  in  his  mouth,  and  placing  his  paw  on  the  meat 
tried  to  tear  off  a  piece.  The  meat  stretched  like  a 
peice  of  Injy  rubber,  the  more  the  dog  pulled  the 
more  the  meat  stretched ;  soon  his  paw  slipped  and 
the  meat  flying  back,  knocked  the  dog  over  stiff ! ' 
Here  the  narrator  stopped.  "  Did  it  kill  him?  "  was 
asked.  The  reply  was,  "  No,  but  the  dog  has  not 
seen  a  well  day  since,  besides  being  a  cripple  for  life  !" 

HE   VOTED    HIS    SENTIMENTS. 

Dennis  S.  was  well  known  for  his  Irish  wit  and 


179 

ready  repartee.  The  person  who  attempted  to  ridi- 
cule him  in  an  argument  was  sure  to  come  off  sec- 
ond best.  At  a  town  meeting,  when  a  vote  was  ta- 
ken on  the  license  question,  Den  marched  boldly 
up  to  the  ballot  box  holding  his  vote  so  that  every 
one  could  see  the  big  "  Yes"'  that  was  printed  on  it, 
he  being  strongly  in  favor  of  license.  When  the 
votes  were  counted  his  was  the  only  yes  vote  cast. 
(Considerable  chaffing  and  laughter  was  indulged  in 
by  the  crowd,  but  Den  took  it  all  in  good  part,  re- 
plying, "  Be  gorra  byes,  I  voted  my  sintimints  ona- 
how."  When  it  came  to  voting  on  appropriations, 
*300  was  called  for  to  be  used  for  temperance  pur- 
poses. Dennis  had  been  quietly  waiting  his  chance 
to  get  even,  and  before  the  vote  was  taken  rose  to 
his  feet  and  said  :  "  Musther  Moderator,  if  it  is 
in  order,  I  would  like  to  make  an  amindmint  to  that 
motion.  I  move  you,  sir,  that  it  be  fufty  dollars 
instead  of  three  hundred;  according  to  the  vote  on 
license,  I  am  the  only  man  in  town  that  drinks  whis- 
key, I'll  guarantee  that  I  can  be  kept  straight  for  fifty 
dollars,  making  a  clane  saving  to  the  town  of  $250." 
This  brought  down  the  house.  When  quiet  was  re- 
stored, the  vote  was  taken  and  the  article  carried 
without  the  "  amindment."  Den  then  rose  and  said, 
"  I  now  know,  domed  well,  some  of  yees  voted 
against  yer  principles." 


180 

THE   PEAR   TREE.  —  WHEN  YOU   MAKE   A   DONATION 
BE   CAREFUL    HOW   YOU   WORD    IT. 

The  following  story  comes  from  Truro.  A  father 
had  two  sons,  whose  names  were  Ephraim  and  Mul- 
ford.  Ephraim  was  noted  for  being  quite  a  rogue, 
though  not  a  bad  boy  by  any  means.  Mulford  was 
more  sedate,  and  rather  a  favorite  with  his  father, 
who  would  make  him  presents  at  times  and  not  give 
any  to  Ephraim,  thinking  to  punish  him  in  this  way 
for  his  roguish  tricks.  A  fine  pear  tree  was  standing 
in  the  garden  that  bore  an  abundance  of  nice  fruit. 
One  da}7,  for  some  trifling  misdemeanor  of  Ephraim, 
the  father  to  punish  him,  took  the  two  boys  into  the 
garden  and  reading  them  a  lecture,  said,  "  I  am  go- 
ing to  make  you,  Mulford,  a  present  of  that  tree, 
and  as  for  you,  Ephraim,  you  might  have  had  it,  if 
you  had  only  behaved  yourself,  but  I  give  the  tree 
to  Mulford  to  punish  you."  When  fall  came  the 
tree  was  loaded  down  with  nice  fruit.  One  evening 
when  sitting  around  the  fireside,  Mulford  and  his 
father  were  estimating  how  many  pears  there  were 
on  the  tree,  and  how  much  money  they  would  bring 
in  Wellfleet.  Plans  were  laid  to  pick  the  fruit  the 
next  day.  In  the  morning  Mulford  went  to  pick 
the  pears,  and  not  a  pear  was  to  be  found  on  the 
tree.  Sorrowing  over  his  loss,  he  went  and  told  his 
father,  who  went  in  search  of  Ephraim,  mistrusting 
full  well  that  he  was  the  culprit.     When  found  and 


181 

asked  if  he  had  taken  the  pears,  he  freely  answered 
"  Yes.'1  The  father  said,  "  Don't  you  know  I  gave 
that  tree  to  Mulford?"  With  feigned  innocence 
he  answered,  "  Yes,  father,  I  know  you  gave  the  tree 
to  Mulford,  but  yer  didn't  say  pears  n'all." 

BIG    DISCOUNT. 

One  of  the  noted  men  of  this  place  is  the  "  Dea- 
con, who  is  well  versed  in  equine  matters  and  a  not- 
ed horse-trader.  Driving  an  old  horse  along  the 
street,  one  day,  he  fell  in  with  a  noted  jockey,  who 
in  a  bantering  manner  asked  the  Deacon  what  he 
would  take  for  the  horse.  "  One  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,'*  was  the  reply.  kt  Will  give  you  twenty-five," 
said  the  jockey.  "  Take  him,''  replied  the  "  Deacon," 
but  I  must  sav  it  is  one  h  —  1  of  a  discount  for  that 
animal." 

SHE    LOST    HER    TOWELS. 

The  English  steamship  Caledonia  came  ashore 
near  Race  Point,  January  1st,  1863.  The  vessel  had 
on  board  a  very  valuable  cargo,  among  which  were 
cases  of  broadcloth,  woollen  goods,  linen  in  bolts, 
cotton  cloth,  and  thread.  As  all  of  the  cargo  was 
discharged  there  was  a  great  quantity  and  it  could 
not  be  expected  that  all  of  it  would  be  returned  to 
the  underwriters'  agent,  more  or  less  being  taken  by 
the  workmen  and  people  on  the  beach.  A  story  is 
told  how  one  of   the    workmen    brought  home  one 


182 
night  a  bolt  of  Irish  linen  toweling.  It  being  some- 
what stained  by  being  wet  in  salt  water,  the  wife  of 
the  man  that  brought  it  in,  washed  it  and  knowing 
if  hung  out  to  dry,  passers  by  would  notice  it,  and 
know  where  it  came  from,  thought  it  a  good,  idea  to 
hang  it  on  a  neighbor's  clothes  line,  as  the  two  clothes 
yards  adjoined.  When  the  linen  was  dry,  the  owner 
of  the  clothes  line  went  and  took  it  in,  reasoning  to 
herself  that  it  she  was  going  to  have  the  name  of 
having  some  of  the  Caledonia's  stuff,  she  might  as 
well  have  the  article.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
first  party  never  called  for  their  toweling,  and  there 
was  a  coldness  between  the  families  ever  after,  and 
they  were  not  on  speaking  terms. 

GOOD      FISHING.  — THREE      FISH     CAUGHT     ON      ONE 
HOOK    AT   THE    SAME    TIME. 

A  trawler  had  set  his  trawl  off  the  Truro  shore 
for  cod-fish.  A  small  fish,  in  taking  one  of  the  baits, 
had  swallowed  the  hook  ;  a  dogfish  happened  along 
and  began  to  eat  the  small  cod-fish  and  was  caught 
in  the  mouth  by  the  hook.  A  large  goose-fish  swal- 
lowed both,  and  the  trawler  had,  to  his  surprise 
when  he  hauled  in  his  trawl,  three  fish  on  one  hook. 

A    GOOD    DAY'S    WORK. 

The  schooner  Richard,  of  Truro,  Captain  Richard 
Rich,  in  the  year  1848,  when  fishing  for  mackerel  on 
what  is  known  as  the  "Middle  Bank,"  between  Cape 
Cod  and  Cape  Ann,  with  a  crew  of  twelve  men  and 


183 

two  boys,  caught  in  one  day,  on  hook  and  line,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  barrels  of  extra  good  mack- 
erel. This,  we  think,  is  the  largest  catch  ever  made 
in  one  day  with  hook  and  line  by  any  Cape  Cod 
vessel. 

A    GOOD    SWALLOW. 

The  before-mentioned  "  Deacon,"  in  the  summer  is 
often  employed  to  take  parties  around  the  town  and 
on  excursions  to  the  Race  or  Highland  Light  Houses. 
Now  the  "  Deacon''  believes  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul. 
"  That  a  little  wine  is  good  for  the  stomach's  sake,'" 
and  indulges  moderately  when  he  wants  it.  It  hap- 
pened one  day  that  he  was  called  to  take  a  party  of 
young  city  bloods  on  an  excursion  to  Race  Point 
Light.  They  were  amply  provided  with  the  usual 
remedies  against  snake  bites  and  other  accidents. 
After  getting  out  of  town  and  into  the  woods,  one 
of  the  party  pulled  out  a  flask,  and  taking  a  drink, 
it  was  passed  from  one  to  another.  Not  knowing  the 
"  Deacon"  and  hearing  him  addressed  by  that  title. 
thought  that  he  was  a  deacon  of  some  church  and 
did  not  offer  him  any.  The  "  Deacon'"  drove  alono-. 
inwardly  regretting  that  such  a  name  should  deprive 
him  of  taking  something,  as  he  mistrusted  what  was 
the  truth.  After  a  while  cigars  were  produced,  and 
thinking  there  could  be  no  harm  in  offering  him  one, 
he  was  asked  to  take  one.  This  was  his  chance  and 
his  reply  came  quickly.     "  No,  gentleman,  I  never 


184 

use  tobacco  in  any  form,  nor  never  did,  I  am  getting 
too  old  to  learn,  but  I  can  swallow  just  as  well  as  if 
I  was  younger/'  Roars  of  laughter  greeted  this  re- 
mark, and  it  is  needless  to  say  the  bottle  was  pro- 
duced and  the  "  Deacon"  took  the  first  pull.  After- 
wards, whenever  the  flask  was  produced,  it  would 
be  tendered  to  him  first,  with  the  remark,  "  Deacon 
try  your  swallow." 

WRECK    OF    THE    GIOVANNIA 

On  March  the  4th,  1875,  the  Italian  bark  Giovan- 
nia,  from  Palermo,  Sicily,  came  ashore  about  two 
and  one-half  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  Peaked 
Hill  Life  Saving  Station.  It  was  blowing  fresh  at 
the  time  from  the  north-east,  with  thick  and  heavy 
snow  squalls.  The  bark  grounded  on  the  bars,  it  be- 
inor  low  water  at  that  time.  As  soon  as  the  vessel 
was  seen  from  the  station  preparations  were  made  to 
rescue  the  crew.  The  mortar,  shot  lines  and  hawsers 
were  taken  out,  and  the  station  men  started  for  the 
wreck.  It  was  heavy  and  toilsome  work  dragging 
the  cart  along  the  shore,  as  there  was  a  heavy  ice 
wall  along  the  beach  at  high  water  mark.  The 
wreck  was  not  reached  until  after  five  o'clock,  taking 
over  three  hours  to  make  the  distance  The  crew 
from  the  Highland  Station  were  at  the  scene  of  the 
wreck,  but  without  any  of  their  apparatus.  A  con- 
sultation was  held  by  the  two  captains,  Atkins  and 
Worthen,  and  it  whs  thought  best  to  go  to  the  lat- 


185 

ter's  station  at  Highland  and  get  the  life  car.  Leav- 
ing one  of  the  men  at  the  wreck ,*the  rest  of  the  sta- 
tion men  went  after  the  car.  During  their  absence 
the  steward  and  boatswain  of  the  bark  put  a  plank 
overboard  and  tried  to  reach  the  shore.  The  plank 
was  turned  over  and  over,  but  the  men  clung  to  it 
with  desperation  until  they  reached  the  breakers  on 
the  beach,  when  the  boatswain  lost  his  hold  and  was 
drowned.  A  young  man  of  this  place  named  Ber- 
nard Jacint,  tying  a  line  around  his  body,  while  the 
other  end  was  held  by  some  of  the  people  on  the 
beach,  rushed  into  the  surf  and  grasping  the  steward, 
both  were  hauled  safely  back  ashore  out  of  the  un- 
dertow. It  was  a  daring  deed  of  young  Jacint  and 
he  should  have  been  rewarded,  but  a  casual  mention 
in  the  local  paper  was  all  the  notice  ever  taken.  The 
station  men  hauling  the  life  car  through  banks  of 
snow  three  and  four  feet  deep  assisted  by  some  of 
the  people  from  Pond  Village,  arrived  at  the  wreck 
at  eleven  o'clock  that  night.  It  was  then  so  dark 
that  the  vessel  could  not  be  seen.  A  fire  was  kept 
burning  on  the  beach,  and  the  station  men  went  to 
their  station  for  something  to  eat,  leaving  a  watch 
on  the  beach,  knowing  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  do  anything  until  daylight.  As  soon  as  daylight 
dawned  the  vessel  was  seen  in  the  same  position  she 
was  in  at  dark,  apparently  uninjured.  The  mortar 
was  loaded  and  a  shot,  with  line  attached,  fired,  but 


186- 

it  fell  over  sixty  feet  short.  Another  and  another 
were  fired,  each  one  falling  short  of  the  mark ;  at 
last  the  ammunition  giving  out,  the  station  men  and 
spectators  that  had  gathered  on  the  beach  were  talk- 
ing of  coming  in  to  town  for  a  boat.  During  the 
time  of  firing  the  shots,  only  one  man  was  to  be  seen 
on  the  wreck  standing  in  the  port  main  channels. 
When  the  firing  ceased,  the  crew,  who  had  been  un- 
der the  topgallant  forecastle,  came  out  one  by  one  ; 
going  up  the  fore  rigging,  they  went  out  on  the  fore 
yard  arm  and  dropping  overboard,  endeavored  to 
reach  the  shore  by  swimming.  Not  a  soul  reached 
the  beach  alive.  Some  would  stay  up  for  some  time, 
but  would  be  seen  to  throw  up  their  hands  and  go 
down,  never  more  to  rise.  One  man,  supposed  after- 
ward to  be  the  captain,  kept  on  top  of  the  waves 
for  nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  but  such  was 
the  strength  of  the  current  and  undertow  along  the 
shore,  that  when  he  sank  he  was  no  nearer  the  shore 
than  when  he  went  overboard.  His  body  was  pick- 
ed up  about  one  mile  westward  of  the  station,  and 
when  found  was  clad  only  in  his  underclothing.  The 
rescued  steward  was  able  to  identify  him  as  the  cap- 
tain. It  was  a  heart-rending  sight  to  witness  the 
death  of  these  men  without  the  power  to  save. 
Shortly  after  the  crew  went  overboard,  the  vessel 
began  to  break  up  and  in  less  then  an  hour  there 
was  nothing  visible  of  the  wreck,  but  a  portion  of 


187 

the  bow.  The  shore  for  miles  along  the  beach  was 
strewn  with  the  cargo  and  the  debris  of  the  wreck. 
The  steward,  who  was  a  native  Palmerese,  was 
named  Salvadore  Chappira  ;  he  was  kindly  cared  for 
by  the  station  men,  and  upon  his  arrival  in  town,  he 
being  a  Catholic,  was  taken  in  charge  by  the  priest 
here  and  forwarded  to  New  York,  and  thence  home. 
Thirteen  lives  were  lost  in  this  wreck,  and  no  such 
large  loss  of  life  has  happened  since,  the  gun  and  ap- 
paratus now  used  being  more  efficent.  The  vessel 
was  also  poorly  built,  and  bilged  on  the  bar,  which 
was  the  reason  she  never  came  in  any  nearer  to 
the  shore.  Had  she  come  up  on  the  beach  there  is 
no  doubt  but  every  man  would  have  been  saved. 

CHASED   BY   A    BARREL. 

Before  the  Life  Saving  Stations  at  the  backside 
shore  were  built,  it  was  a  common  thing  during  a 
heavy  breeze  for  parties  to  go  out  on  the  beach 
seeking  for  anything  that  the  gale  might  drive  on 
shore.  Old  John  P.  was  one  that  often  frequented 
the  beach  on  these  occasions.  One  night  there  was 
a  heavy  north-west  wind  blowing,  the  sand  on  the 
beach  was  frozen  hard,  the  night  was  quite  dark,  but 
starlight.  Old  John  started  for  the  backside  in  hopes 
to  pick  up  something  whereby  he  could  make  a  dollar. 
Arriving  at  the  beach  he  walked  back  and  forth 
until  nearly  midnight,  but  met  with  no  luck.  At 
last,  being  tired  with   his   tramp   and  not  meeting 


188 

with  any  success,  he  turned  his  steps  towards  the 
town  for  home.  As  he  got  into  the  hollow  of  the 
beach,  the  sand  hill  broke  the  wind  and  made  it 
quite  lee  ;  he  started  to  fill  and  light  his  pipe.  Just 
as  he  was  going  to  apply  the  lighted  match,  he  heard 
a  loud,  dismal  groan  and  a  huge,  black  object  ap- 
peared on  the  top  of  the  sand  hill,  towards  the  shore, 
and  was  coming  down  the  hillside  directly  for  him. 
Dropping  match  and  pipe  he  started  on  the  keen  run 
for  the  town,  the  object  coming  after  him  at  full 
speed  and  occasionally  uttering  its  dismal  groan. 
Fear  increased  John's  speed,  but  occasionally  glanc- 
ing backwards  could  see  that  the  object  was  gaining 
upon  him.  He  felt  that  his  strength  was  leaving 
him,  and  feeling  in  his  pocket  for  his  jack  knife,  de- 
termined to  fight  to  the  last.  Taking  it  from  his 
pocket,  he  turned  one  more  look  backward,  when 
he  accidently  stumbled,  and  fell  on  the  frozen  sand. 
The  object,  with  a  fearful  groan,  came  rushing  on  ; 
John  determined,  though  trembling  with  fear,  to  pre- 
pare for  the  struggle  that  he  thought  would  surel}' 
come.  However,  the  object  passed  him  by  close  to 
his  side,  not  offering  to  make  an  attack  and  going 
some  fifty  feet  further  on,  stopped  in  a  bunch  of 
beach  plum  bushes.  He  now  assumed  the  aggressive, 
and  going  to  the  bushes  found  he  had  been  chased 
b}^  an  empty  water  barrel.  The  heavy  north-west 
wind  was  blowing  it  over  the  hard  frozen  sand  and  the 


189 

noise  was  caused  by  the  wind  blowing  in  at  the  bung- 
hole.  Putting  it  on  his  shoulder  he  brought  it  to 
town  and  for  a  long  time  would  relate  his  adventure 
and  produce  the  barrel  for  proof. 

A   KNOWING    HOUSE. 

A  citizen  of  this  place  had  a  white  horse  that  had 
been  for  a  long  time  in  his  service.  The  owner  was 
never  tired  of  telling,  when  he  could  find  listeners, 
of  the  wonderful  actions  and  intelligence  of  the  ani- 
mal. One  day  the  horse  was  taken  to  the  black- 
smith's shop  to  be  shod.  After  the  work  was  done 
the  owner  said  to  several  persons  who  were  in  the 
shop  at  the  time,  and  to  whom  he  had  been  telling 
the  good  qualities  and  actions  of  the  animal:  "Gen- 
tlemen, to  show  you  how  much  that  horse  knows  I 
will,  by  word  only,  make  him  leave  the  shop  and 
place  himself  in  the  shafts  of  my  wagon."  Leaving 
the  horse  in  the  shop  the  owner  went  out  and  called, 
"  Whitey,  come,  get  into  place ;  we  will  go  for  our 
dinner."  The  horse  never  moved  ;  the  owner  repeat- 
ed the  call  several  times,  but  still  the  horse  refused 
to  move.  The  owner  was  much  vexed,  as  the  by- 
standers began  laughing,  when  the  blacksmith  came 
to  the  owner's  relief  with  the  remark  that  if  the  shoe- 
ing was  paid  for  the  horse  would  go,  as  undoubtedly 
the  animal  did  not  want  to  go  away  in  debt.  Out 
came  the  owner's  pocket-book  and  the  bill  was  paid, 
after  which,  at  the   first  call,  old   Whitey  took  his 


190 

place  when  told.  The  blacksmith  saying  to  the  ow- 
ner that  it  was  a  remarkable  horse  indeed,  and  it 
would  be  a  benefit  to  him  if  there  were  more  horses 
that  knew  enough  not  to  run  their  masters  in  debt. 

davie's  dream. 
Old  Davie  was  one  the  old-time  characters  who 
could  tell  a  good  story  and  would  often  draw  largly 
on  his  imagination.  If  any  one  offended  him  I13  was 
sure  to  come  under  a  tongue  lashing  from  Davie.  It 
so  happened  that  there  were  two  men  that  Davie 
had  a  pecular  dislike  for,  and  he  never  let  slip  by  a 
chance  to  annoy  them.  One  morning,  when  going 
to  his  work,  he  went  in  a  store  where  there  was  quite 
a  crowd  assembled,  and  wishing  them  good  morning 
said,  "  Boys,  I  had  a  queer  dream  last  night,  I 
dreamed  that  I  had  died  and  gone  to  that  place 
where  about  everybody  says  I  will  go  when  I  die. 
The  Old  Nick  himself  said  he  had  been  expecting 
me  for  some  time  and  that  I  was  welcome.  "  Now 
Davie,  we  always  manage  here  to  have  things  go 
along  peaceably,  but  if  Sam.  S.  and  Nat.  H.  get  in 
here,  and  I  know  they  are  coming,  there  will  be  no 
more  peace  here.  I  put  you  in  door-keeper  and  be 
sure  they  don't  come  in."  "I  took  my  stand  at  the 
door,  and  soon  I  saw  them  coming.  As  they  attempt- 
ed to  pass  me  I  began  to  kick  at  them  and  tell  them 
to  go  away.  I  had  just  given  a  smart  kick  to  old 
Sam.  S.,  when  he  roared  out,  "  what  in  the  devil  are 


191 

you  doing  ?  '"  so  loud  that  it  waked  me  up  and  I  found 
I  had  kicked  ray  Jack,  who  was  sleeping  with  me,  out 
of  bed  on  to  the  floor.  Those  two  fellows,  if  they 
don't  go  there  when  the  time  comes,  at  least  they 
ought  too." 

LOSS    OF    WHALING   BRIG    ARDENT. 

The  whaling  brig  Ardent  sailed  from  this  port  for 
a  cruise  off  the  Western  Islands.     She  was  manned 
by  the  following  persons,  most  of  whom  were  citizens 
of  this  place  :  captain,  Samuel  Soper  ;  mate,    Hicks 
Siualley  ;  crew,  John  Savage,  Stephen  Cashin,  Thomas 
Stull,  Jonah    Gross,    Amos    Nickerson,    Thomas  K. 
Hudson,  Solomon    Crowell,    Philip    Rich,   Cyrenius 
Smally,     Franklin     Cartright,     Elisha     Hopkins    of 
Rhode  Island;  John  Austin  of   Boston.     They  met 
with  good  success,  and  were  on  their  passage  home, 
when  thev  encountered   a  severe  hurricane  on  Sep- 
teraber  28th,  1823,  which  hove  the  vessel  down  and 
washed    off   Cashin,     Gross    and    Nickerson.      The 
masts  were  carried  away  close  to  the  deck,  then  the 
vessel  righted,  but  was  full  of   water,  only  a  small 
portion  of   the  after   part    being  out  of  water,  and 
there  was  where  the  remainder  of  the  crew  took  re- 
fuge.    The  cargo  of  oil  barely  keeping  this  part  from 
being  submerged,    when  the  sea  was  rough  it  would 
break  over  it.      Attempts  were   made  to  get  into  the 
cabin  for  provisions   and  water,  but    proved  futile. 
Occasional  rain  squalls  gave  them,  by  wringing  out 


192 

their  clothes,  a  few  drops  of  brackish  water,  and 
for  food  all  they  subsisted  on  was  a  few  barnacles 
and  occasionally  a  small  fish  was  caught  swimming 
around,  being  attracted  by  the  wreck.  One  after 
another  died  from  starvation  and  exposure  and  drop- 
ped off  the  wreck.  After  twenty-six  days  of  un- 
told suffering  there  were  only  five  left,  captain,  mate, 
Hudson,  Rich  and  Cyrenius  Smallv.  The  British 
packet  Lord  Sudmouth,  bound  for  Falmouth,  Eng- 
land, sighted  the  wreck  and  took  off  the  sufferers, 
who  could  not  have  lived  but  a  short  time  longer. 
Every  thing  was  done  for  the  comfort  of  the  wreck- 
ed men,  but  the  mate,  Hicks  Smalley,  died  shortly 
after  they  were  taken  from  the  wreck  and  the  lives 
of  the  remaining  four  were  barely  saved.  All  of 
the  crew  are  now  dead;  the  last  survivor  was  the 
late  Philip  Rich,  who  died  at  an  advanced  age.  He 
very  rarely  alluded  to  the  circumstance  and  was  not 
disposed  to  give  many  of  the  details  of  the  disaster. 
It  was  always  supposed  that  the  last  survivor  would 
tell  the  story,  but  Mr.  Rich  passed  away  without 
relating  it.  A  granddaughter,  now  residing  in  Mid- 
dleboro,  has  for  a  middle  name  the  name  of  the  ship 
that  rescued  the  survivors. 


NOTEWORTHY  CATCHES  OF  FISH. 

November  29th,  1870,  a  school  of  black  fish  was 
driven  ashore  in  Well  fleet  harbor,  some  of  which 
were  upwards  of  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  made 
over  four  barrels  of  oil  each.  There  were  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  fish  in  the  school,  yielding 
one  thousand  twenty  barrels  of  oil  in  all.  These 
fish  were  bought  by  Wellfieet  and  Provincetown 
parties,  and  over  two  hundred  men  and  boj^s  were, 
employed  in  saving  the  oil. 

During  the  month  of  December,  1884,  there  were 
taken  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  over  two  thousand  black 
fish  by  boats  from  Provincetown,  Truro  and  Well- 
fleet.  This  is  the  largest  catch  ever  known  to  have 
been  taken,  and  but  very  few  fish  of  that  kind  have 
been  seen  in  these  waters  since. 

The  largest  whale  ever  known  to  have  been  cap* 
tured  on  this  coast  was  taken  in  South  Channel, 
south-east  of  Chatham,  on  May  11th,  1843,  by  the 
little,  pink-stern  schooner  Cordelia,  of  Province- 
town,  Capt.  Ebenezer  Cook,  and  a  crew  of  Province- 
town  men.  This  whale  was  of  the  right  whale 
species,  and  was  estimated  that  it  would  have  made 


194 

nearly  three  hundred  barrels  of  oil,  and  about  one 
and  a  half  tons  of  bone.  The  little  craft  not  having 
the  facilities  for  handling  the  monster,  saved  only 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  barrels  of  the 
oil  and  three  hundred  pounds  of  the  bone,  which 
was  over  fourteen  feet  in  length.  The  little  craft 
was  then  full,  hold  and  deck.  Signals  were  made 
to  a  passing  vessel,  but  no  notice  was  taken,  so  the 
rest  of  the  whale  was  abandoned.  The  value  of 
the  fish  was  over  $12,000. 

Schooner  Willie  A.  McKay,  Capt.  Angus  McKay, 
of  Provincetown,  in  the  year  1882,  fitted  for  the 
Grand  Banks  and  was  absent  three  months,  bringing 
in  the  largest  fare  of  cod-fish  ever  brought  to  this 
port.  After  the  fish  were  dried  and  ready  for  the 
market,  they  weighed  4,062  quintals  and  sold  for  a 
little  over  $22,000.  Capt.  McKay  has  always  made 
successful  voyages,  and  in  1889,  known  as  the  scarce 
year,  brought  in  nearly  a  full  fare  of  fish,  —  the  only 
one  in  the  place. 


TABLE  OF  DATES. 

First  visit    of    Europeans,    Thorwalcl    and 

Icelandic  Viking,  1004 

Second  visit  of  Europeans,  Thorbin  Karlsfeni,    1007 
Visited  by  Cortereal,  a  French  navigator,  1501 

Visited  by  French  Fishermen,  1597  — 1601 

Bartholomew  Gosnold  landed,  1602 

John  Smith,  from  Virginia,  1614 

Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  Nov.  11,  1620 

Gov.  Bradford's  wife,  Mary,  drowned  from 

the  Mayflower,  Dec.  10,  1620 

Peregrine  White  born  on  board  the  May- 
flower, Dec.  16,  1620 
Peregrine  White  died  in  Marshfield,      July  20,  1704  . 
First  settlement,  about  1680 
First  recorded  birth,  Ephraim  Doane,    April  1,  1696 
Was  made  a  precinct  under  Truro,        June  17,  1714 
The    Kings    Commissioners    defenitely   lo- 
cated the  boundary  line,                  Sept.  24, 1714 
Was  made  a  town,  the  line  being  the  eastern 

boundary,    and    called    Provincetown, 

June  14, 1727 


196 

Law  passed  fixing  January  for  town-meet- 
ings, Oct.  3d,  1730 

Oldest  tombstone  record,  June  10,  1724 

First  place  of  worship  built,  1763 

First  Free  Mason  building  was  built,  1795 

Light  House  at  Highland,  Truro,  first  lighted,     1797 

Memorable  gale ;  three    East    India   ships 

Volusia,    Ulysses,    and    Brutus,    were 
wrecked,  Feb.  22, 1802 

Small  pox  raged ;  many  deaths  took  place, 

winter  of  1800  —  1801 

Rev.  Samuel  Parker,  for  many  years  appoint- 
ed by  the  government  as  minister, 
died  •  April  11,  1811 

Act  passed  establishing  the  M.  E.  Church, 

June  22,  1811 
Bridge  built  across  Race  Run,  Hatch's  Harbor,  1839 
Long  Point  made  a  separate  school  district,  1832 
Race  Point  made  a  school  district,  1835 

First  building  built  on  Long  Point,  November,  1818 
Hon.  N.  E.  Atwood  moved  from  Long  Point 

to  town,  December,  1856 

Lighthouse  on  Race  Point  built,  1816 

Lighthouse  on  Long  Point  built,  1826 

Lighthouse  on  Wood  End  built,  1872 

Ship  Warren  wrecked,  a  part  of  the  crew 

saved,  December,  1832 

Equitable  Insurance  Co.  incorporated,  1845 


197 

I.  O.  of  O.  F.  instituted,  Nov.  21,  1845 

Marine  Railway  at  Central  Wharf  built,  1848 

Abundance  of  mackeral  caught,  known  as 

the  Chatham  Years,  1848  —  1849 

First  bridge  across  East  Harbor  built,  1854 

Destroyed  by  a  gale  and  ice,  1856 

Rebuilt,  ~  1857 

Discontinued  and  solid  road  built,  1877 

Sudden  squall,  with  snow,  twenty-one  ves- 
sels wrecked  in  this  vicinity,  Dec.  3d,  1853 
Severe  gale  known    as    the    October  Gale, 
seven  vessels   and    fifty-seven  persons 
lost   from    Truro    on    George's    Bank. 

Oct.  2d-3d,  1841 
Severe  gale  in  the  Bay  St.  Lawrence,  many 
vessels  lost  from  here  and  other  places 
on  the  Cape,  Oct.  3d-4th,  1851 

Old  Town  Hall  built,  1853 

Burned  down,  Feb.  16th,  1877 

New  Town  Hall  completed,  Aug.  25th,  1886 

English  Steamship  Calendonia  came  ashore 

near  Race  Point,  Jan.  1st,  1863 

Mason  &  Slidell  Gale,  so  called,  from  their 
being  on  board  English  Steamer  Rinaldo 
and  leaving  port  that  day,  Jan.  1st,  1862 

Great   catch   of  mackerel,    known    as    the 

Boon  Island  Year,  1864 

Railroad  opened  for  traffic,  July  22nd,  1873 


198 

President  Grant's  visit,  Aug.  28th,  1874 

Ex.    President    Grover    Cleveland   visited 

here,  August,  1889 

Provincetowu  Bank  incorporated,  March  28th,  1854 
Seaman's      Savings      Bank     incorporated, 

April  14th,  1850 
Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Co.  incorporat- 
ed, April  13th,  1854 
Union  Marine  Railway  built,  1851 
Bradford  street  built,  1873 
Severe  gale  and  tidal  w<ive,  ship  Nina  came 
ashore  and   damaged    the   Post  Office, 

October,  1871 
Wreck  of   ship   Peruvian,    from  Singapore 

for  Boston,  Dec.  26th,  1872 

U.  S.  Life  Saving  Stations  manned,     Jan.  2lst,  1873 
Wreck  of  Italian  bark  Giovanni,  thirteen 

lives  lost,  only  one  man  saved,  March  4th,  1875 
Adams's  Hall  burned,  March,  1875 

New  Masonic  Hall  built,  1870 

Schooner  Annie  Freeman,  Capt.  Sylvester 
D.  Rich,  lost  on  a  voyage  from  Prince 
Edward's  Island,  ten  lives  lost,   Dec.  12th,  1872 

Seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  black-fish, 
making  one  thousand  and  twenty 
barrels  of  oil,  taken,  Dec.  5th,  1870 

Over  two  thousand  black-fish  taken  during 


199 

the  month  of  December,  in  Cape  Cocl 
Bay,  1884 

Town  lighted  with  street  lamps,  April  12th,  1884 
Goverment  Dike  built  at  East  Harbor,  1868  — 1869 
Seaman's  Aid  Society  established,  April  13th,  1882 
Fireman's  Insurance  Co.  organized,  Jan.  4th,  1873 
High  and  Grammar  school  building  built,  1880 

School-house  on  Long  Point  built,  1846 

Public  Library  building  built,  1874 

Wreck  of  schooner  Sarah  J.  Fort,  part  of 

the  crew  saved  by  volunteers,  April,  1870 

Loss  of  Captain  David    H.  Atkins,  Frank 
Mayo,  Elisha  Taylor,  crew  of  Life  Sav- 
ing Station  at  Peaked  Hills,        Nov.  30th,  1880 
High  Head  Life  Saving  Station  built,  1883 

Sidewalk  laid,  1838 

First  wharf  or  pier  of  any  kind  built,  about       1835 


BUSINESS  DIRECTORY, 

ARTISTS. 

William  M.  Smith,  photographer,  three  doors  west 
Central  House ;  Nickerson  Photograph  Rooms,  L 
Rosenthal,  manager,  next  to  Post  Office ;  Lewis  H. 
Baker,  ferrotypist,  Giffbrd  Block  ;  Mamie  Nickerson, 
teacher  of  oil  painting,  opposite  Gifford  Block ; 
Leah  Matheson,  decorative  work,  Conant  Street ; 
Mrs.  Ada  H.  Miller,  teacher  and  artist  in  oil  paint- 
ing, 11  Winthrop  St.;  Mrs.  Cora  Fuller,  decorative  ar- 
tist, West's  Block. 

BARBERS. 

Vincent  F.  Silva,  Head  Steamboat  Wharf;  John 
Lucas,  corner  Carver  and  Commercial  Street ; 
Manuel  J.  Davis,  Commercial  St.,  near  First  Na- 
tional Bank ;  John  W.  My  rick,  Small's  Building, 
near  Post  Office  ;  James  Henderson,  Commercial  St^ 
east  R.  R.  Crossing ;  John  Francis,  Commercial  StM 
nearly  opposite  Public  Library. 

CALKERS. 

John  W.  Beatty,  Good  Templar  Street ;  Atwood 
Mott,  Union  Marine  Railway. 

BLACKSMITHS. 

J.  H.  Livermore,  Union  Wharf;  Wm.  H.  Herbolt, 
Commercial    St.,    Head      Central    Wharf;    Amasa 


201 

Taylor,  R.  R.  Wharf,  rear  Post  Office ;  Philander 
Crocker,  Hilliard's  Wharf;  W.C.  Snow,  S.  G.  Cook's 
Wharf. 

DOCTORS,  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS. 

E.  C.  Peck,  Commercial  St.,  foot  of  Carver ; 
Adin  H.  Newton,  Commercial,  between  Gosnold  St., 
Masonic  Place ;  William  E.  Moore,  corner  Gosnold 
and  Commercial  St. ;  Rich'd  C.  Dailey,  Smith's  Block, 
Custom  House  Building ;  W.  S.  Birge,  corner  of 
Bradford  and  Prince  St. ;  Mrs.  W.  S.  Birge,  M.  D., 
office,  corner  Bradford  and  Prince  St. 

HOUSE  CARPENTERS  AND  JOINERS. 

Willis  Higgins,  9  Court  St.,*  Richard  J.  Days,  Wash- 
ington Ave.  ;  Victor  J.  Leonard,  Cud  worth  St. ; 
James  Cobb,  Bradford  St.,  rear  of  Town  Hall ;  By- 
ley  Lyford,  6  Cook  St. ;  Solomon  D.  Nickerson,  Com- 
mercial St.,  West  End  ;  Josiah  Snow,  at  the  Pilgrim 
House ;  C.  H.  Holway,  211  Commercial  St. ;  Geo  C. 
Hill,  corner  Johnson  and  Bradford  Sts.  ; 

SHIP  CARPENTERS  AND  SPAR  MAKERS. 

George  W.  Standish,  Commercial  St.,  near  R.  R. 
Wharf;  John  G.  Whitcomb,  Railroad  Wharf;  Ezra 
Ewell,  Central  Wharf;  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  Union 
Wharf  and  Marine  Railway. 

CONTRACTORS  AND  BUILDING  MOVERS. 

Alex.  Gayland  &  Sons,  near  Post  Office. 

TUBULAR  WELLS  AND  DRIVEN  PUMP*. 

Charles  W.  Burkett,  Standish  Street. 


202 

HOTELS  AND  BOARDING  HOUSES. 

Gifford's  Summer  Hotel,  corner  Carver  and  Brad- 
ford Sts. ;  Pilgrim  House,  off  Commercial,  near  Free- 
man St.  ;  Central  House,  234  Commercial,  near  Gos- 
nold  St. ;  Atlantic  House,  Masonic  Place ;  Seaside 
Cottage,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Mayo,  for  summer  visitors  only, 
493  Commercial  St.  ;  Chapman  House,  opposite 
Central  House  ;  Atkins  House,  East  End  ;  Ellen  F. 
Atkins,  Proprietor. 

WATCH-MAKERS  AND  JEWELLERS. 

A.  Louis  Putman,  Masonic  Bluck  ;  W.  C.  Healev. 
Small's  Block,  corner  Commercial  and   Gosnold  St. 

FRUIT,  CIGARS,  CONFECTIONERY. 

Charles  S.  Hopkins,  129  Commercial  St.,  near 
Pleasant ;  E.  J.  Kilburn,  corner  Court  and  Commer- 
cial Sts.  ;  Walter  Welch,  Commercial  St.,  foot  of 
Carver  ;  F.  N.  Smith,  Commercial  St.,  next  to  Cen- 
tral House ;  Joseph  P.  Martin,  263  Commercial  St.  ; 
Matthias  Morris,  3d  door  east  of  the  Post  Office ; 
Ed.  S.  Berry,  Commercial  St.,  head  of  Conwell's 
Wharf;  Timothy  T.  Chase,  next  building  to  Burch's 
Clothing  Store ;  James  P.  Holmes,  next  to  Mason- 
ic Block  ;  S.  S.  Gross  Commercial,  opposite  Good 
Templar  St. 

BAKERS,  PIES,  CAKES,  BREAD,  BEANS,  ETC. 

Joshua  T.  Small,  Small's  Block,  corner  Commer- 
cial and  Gosnold  Sts. ;  George  Ellis,  Commercial  St. 
West  End. 


203 

GROCERS. 

J.  Brown,  corner  Commercial  and  Conant  St. ;  F. 
C.  Miller,  76  Commercial  St. ;  George  O.  Knowles, 
Knowles's  Wharf,  foot  Pearl  St.;  John  D.  Hilliard, 
Hilliard's  Wharf,  near  Freeman  St. ;  R.  S.  Laven- 
der, Commercial,  foot  Cornell  St. ;  Moses  S.  Turner, 
5  Cornell  St. ;  Union  Fish  Co.,  Railroad  Wharf;  Ira 
K.  Small,  201  Commercial  St.;  John  Adams,  202 
Commercial  St. ;  T.  W.  Sparks,  285  Commercial  St., 
head  Railroad  Wharf.  ;  James  E.  Rich,  178  Commer- 
cial St. ;  W.  E.  Rogers,  175  Commercial  St.  ;  Frank 
G.  Cook,  Bradford,  corner  Franklin  St.  ;  Joseph 
Perry,  Jr.,  Bradford,  corner  Franklin  St.  ;  Mrs.  R. 
W.  Loring,  2  Atkins  St.,  opposite  No.  1  Engine 
House  ;  Jeremiah  A.  Rich,  Freestone  Market. 

MEATS,  POULTRY,  PROVISIONS. 

W.  C.  Dearborn,  at  T.  W.  Spark's  Store  ;  John 
Adams,  202  Commercial  St.  ;  F.  E.  Hill,  Freestone 
market  ;  James  E.  Rich,  178  Commercial  St.,  M.  S. 
Turner,  5  Cornell  St. ;  J  Brown,  corner  Conant  and 
Commercial  St. 

RETAIL  DEALERS  IX  FRESH  FISH,  (LAMS.  LOBSTERS,  ETC. 

A.  T.  Powe,  145  Commercial  St.  ;  John  Martin, 
head  of  Knowles's  wharf ;  M.  Bradshaw,  282  Com- 
mercial St.,  near  Railroad  Crossing. 

HACKS,  BARNES,  PLEASURE  CARRIAGES. 

Samuel  Knowles,  opposite  First  National  Bank  ; 
H.  J.  Snow,  (the  Deacon),  Lancy's,  corner  Commer- 


204 

cial  St. ;  Newell  C-  Brooks,  Lancy's,  corner  Commer- 
cial St. ;  R.  E.  Mayo,  corner  Montello  and  Commer- 
cial St. ;  Charles  L.  Young,  Adams's  Block  ;  Thomas 
Welch,  Commercial  St.,  foot  of  Carver. 

TEAMSTERS  AND  JOBBERS. 

Barnett  Brothers,  James  H.  R.  Frank,  Union 
Wharf;  James  Campbell,  James  E.  Rich's  store  ; 
Charles  L.  Young,  Adams's  Block ;  R.  E.  Mayo,  cor- 
ner Montello  and  Commercial  St. ;  Newell  C.  Brooks, 
Lancy's,  corner  Commercial  St. ;  Thomas  Welch, 
Commercial  St.,  foot  of  Carver. 

VESSEL  FITTERS  AND  WHOLESALE  DEALERS  IN  FISH. 

William  Matheson,  head  of  Steamboat  Wharf; 
Joseph  Manta,  180  Commercial  St.,  first  wharf  west 
of  Steamboat  Wharf;  John  D.  Hilliard,  Hilliard's 
Wharf;  Union  Fish  Co.,  Railroad  Wharf  ;  Philip  A.- 
Whorf,  Commercial  St.,  East  End  ;  H.  &  S.  Cook  & 
Co.,  438  Commercial  St.  ;  David  Conwell  &  Sons, 
Conwell's  Wharf,  east  of  Pearl  St. 

HOUSE,  SHIP  AND  SIGN  PAINTERS. 

Thomas  W.  Dyer,  97  Commercial  St.  ;  Benj.  H. 
Dyer,  172  Commercial  St. ;  Joseph  W.  Cook,  rear 
344  Commercial  St. ;  D.  W.  Snow,  Decorative  Artist 
and  Letterer,  274  Commercial  St. 

MANUFACTURES  AND  DEALERS  IN  OIL. 

Myrick  C.  Atwood,  (successor  to  N.  E.  Atwood,) 
Pure  Medicinal  Cod  Liver  Oil,  70  Commercial  St.  ; 
Caleb  Cook,  manufacturer  of  fine  Lubricating  Watch 


205 

Oils  ;  works,  on  Miller  Hill,  Bradford  St. ;  George  O. 
Knowles,  wholesale  dealer  and  importer  of  Sperm, 
Whale,  Cod  and  other  Oils,  350  Commercial  St.  ;  also 
agent  and  fitter  for  whaling  vessels. 

LAUNDRY. 

Newton  P.  West,  271  Commercial  Street. 

FURNITURE  DEALER. 

Joseph  A.  West,  248  Commercial  St. 

INSURANCE  AGENT. 

Edward  N.   Paine  ;  office,    J.    and    L.   N.   Paine's 
store,  Commercial  St. 

PAPER  HANGERS. 

J.  Harvey  Dearborn,  224  Commercial  St. ;   A.  E. 
Dearborn,  dealer  in  wall  paper,  224  Commercial  St., 

SAIL  AND  TENT  MAKERS. 

Artemus  P.  Hannum,  Union  Wharf;  F.  A.  Paine, 
Central  Wharf;  Cook  Brothers,  Knowles's  Wharf; 
Charles  H.  Dyer,  S.  G.  Cook's  Wharf;  George  W. 
Pettis,  Hilliard's  Wharf;  George  H.  Lewis,  H.  &  S. 
Cook  &  Co.'s  Wharf. 

BOAT  BUILDER. 

W.  W.  Smith,  142  Commercial  St., 

APOTHECARIES  AND  DRUGGISTS. 

John  D.  Adams,  corner  Gosnold  and  Commercial 
St. ;  Frederick  A.  H.  Gifford,  Gilford's  Block. 

MILLINERY  AND  FANCY  GOODS. 

Mamie    and    Jessie    Matheson,    head    Steamboat 
Wharf;    William    A.    Smith,    232    Commercial  St. ; 


206 
Miss  Lucy  Paine,  opposite  Town  Hall. 

CARPETS,  CROCKERY,  GLASSWARE,  ORGANS,  MUSIC.  ETC. 

Obadiah  Snow,  opposite  Town  Hall. 

DRY  GOODS. 

Hezekiah  P.  Hughes,  Masonic  Block;  Samuel  J. 
Rich,  Central  Block,  near  Railroad  Crossing;  Ben- 
jamin T.  Crocker,  70  and  156  Commercial  St.;  Mrs. 
J.  S.  Hatch,  Commercial  St.,  Kiley's  Bloek. 

CLOTHING,  BOOTS,  SHOES,  GENT'S  FURNISHING  GOODS. 

D.  A.  Matheson,  304  Commercial  St. ;  John  L. 
Rich,  196  Commercial  St.;  J.  M,  Burch,  268  Com- 
mercial St.  ;  Silas  C.  Mott,  319  Commercial  St. 

MERCHANT  TAILORS. 

Albert  Fuller,  247  Commercial  St.  ;  A.  F.  Small, 
301  Commercial  St.;  D.  A.  Smith,  opposite  Town 
Hall. 

BOOT  AND  SHOE  DEALER. 

R.  E.  Mayo,  141  Commercial  St.,  corner  Montello. 

STOVES  AND  TIN  WARE. 

William  B.  Bangs,  190  Commercial  St. ;  Herbert 
Engles,  306  Commercial  St. ; 

WATER    BOATS. 

William  Atkins  ;  office,  Central  Wharf  Store ; 
Xenophon  Rich  ;  office,  R.  S.  Lavender's  Store. 

LUMBER  DEALERS. 

Lewis  &  Brown,  Commercial  St.  opposite  Masonic 
Hall ;  George  Allen,  Atwood's  Wharf. 


207 

MASON  AND  PLASTERER. 

James  Fuller  &  Son,  head  of  Central  Wharf. 

AUCTIONEERS. 

Heman  8.  Cook  ;  office,  344  Commercial  St. ; 
Joseph  P.  Johnson;  office,  Masonic  Place;  H.  A. 
Jennings;  office,  2  Pilgrim  House  Court. 

DENTISTS. 

William  P.  Hudson  &  Son  ;  dental  rooms,  231 
Commercial  St.,  2nd  door  west  from  the  Central 
House  :  A.  F.  Conwell,  I).  D.  S. ;  rooms,  3  Pearl  St. 

OYSTERS  SERVED  IN  EVERY  STYLE. 

Mrs.  Mary  Young,    opposite   Town  Hall  Building. 

D.  S.  CARLO W  &  CO. 

Keep  a  large  stock  of  Fancy  Articles.  Wail  Paper, 
Tin  and  Hardware,  Cutlery,  etc.,  310  Commercial  St. 

JONATHAN  HICGINS. 

Attorney  and  counsellor  at  law  ;  office,  opposite 
Town  Hall  Building;  in  Provincetown  Thursdays 
P.  M.  and  Fridays  A.  M. 

MUSIC. 

Mrs.  Hannah  C.  Buck,  teacher,  171  Commercial 
St. ;  Mrs.  Sadie  N.  Johnson,  teacher,  Masonic  Place  ; 
Geo.  C.  Hill,  Jr.,  leader  Hill's  Orchestra,  teaches 
violin;  office,  corner  Bradford  and  Johnson  St.; 
Puritan  Band,  Town  Hall. 

JOSEPH  WHITCOMB. 

Florist  and  Undertaker,  first  building  west  Rail- 
road Crossing  on  Commercial  St. 


208 

B.  ROLLINGS. 

Agent  for  the  Wheeler  and  Wilson  Sewing  Ma- 
chine ;  office,  Bradford  St.,  between  Montello  and 
Conant  Sts. 

MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 

Geo.  F.  Johnson,  agent  for  Everett  &  Harvard 
Piano  Co. ;  office,  Masonic  Place. 

MARBLE  WORKS. 

Reuben  Nickerson,  Monumental  Sculptor  and 
dealer  in  Marble  and  Granite,  opposite  First  National 
Bank. 


CAPE  COD  COMMERCIAL  TRAVELLERS. 


Our  boys  with  their  grips, 
Who  <m  the  Cape  make  their  trips. 
And  tell  you  true  tales 
When  they  are  making  their  tales. 


GEORGE  51.  (  ARPENTER. 

Represents  F.    Batchelder,    dealer    in    Fresh  Meats    and  Provisions,  55 
Blackstone  St..  Boston,  Mass. 

JOSEPH  P.  HARR03. 

Represents  Frank  O.  Squire  &  Co.,  dealers  in  Beef,  Pork,  Lard,  Hams 
etc.  Of.  Blackstone  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

GEORGE  H.  SYLVESTER. 

Represents  John  F.  Xiokerson,  Wholesale  Grocer,  and  dealer  in  Flour, 
Produce  and  Provisions. 

F.  L.  HANDY. 

Represents  M.  S.  Ayers  &  Co.,  wholesale  dealers  in  Flour,  Produce  and 
Provisions,  189  State  and  86  Central  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

WARREN  FIELDING. 

Represents  J.  C.  Frye  &   Co.,  wholesale'  dealers  in  Flour,  Produce,  Pro- 
visions, etc.,  29  Commercial  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

W.  N.  STETSON. 

Represents  I.  W.  Munroe  &|Co.,  Wholesale  Grocers  and  dealers  in  Flour, 
73  Commercial  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

GEORGE  A.  JERAULD. 

Represents   Isaac  Locke   &  Co.,  wholesale   and  commission  dealer  in 
Fruits  and  Produce,  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  Boston,  Mass. 


210 

V.  E.  ROGERS. 

Represents  Charles  H.    Ordway,    wholesaler   of  all  kinds  of  Fruit  and 
Country  Produce,  101  Arlington  Ave.,  Boston,  Mass. 

AL.  S.  RACK  US. 
Represents  F.  F.  Washburn,  Crackers  and  Pilot  Bread,  Brockton,  Mass. 

GEORGE  IfM.  NICKERSON. 

Wholesale  Dealer  in  Confectionery,  Wellneet,  Mass. 

F.  W.  BRYANT. 

Manufacturer  of  Laundry  Soaps  and  15-2  Washing  Powder,  corner  Wa- 
ter and  Middle  St.,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

GEORGE  W.  BERRY. 
Wholesale  dealer  in  Cigars,  Brewster,  Mass. 

JOSIAH  F.  KNOWLES. 
Represents  Batchelder  &  Lincoln,  jobbers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers, 
96  Federal  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

FRANK  E.  SEARLL. 

Represents  Green,  Anthony  &  Co.,  wholesale  dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  & 
Rubbers,  23  Pine  and  2  Haikness  Court,  Providence,  R.  I. 

DAVID  LOVE. 

Represents  Parker,  Holiness  Co.,  dealers  and  jobbers  in  Boots,  Shoes 
and  Rubbers,  141  Federal  St.,  Boston,  Mass, 

GEORGE  W.  POPE. 

Represents  New  England  Organ  Co.,  1299  Washington  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

<J«  N.  %  \,  \  1&  K  . 

Represents  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of  Dry  Goods. 
Shawls,  Cloaks,  etc.,  450  Washington,  38  Avon  Sts.,  Boston,  Mass, 

H.  L.  LAMBERT. 

Represents  Walker,  Sawyer,  Stetson  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of 
Hosiery,  Cloves,  Laces,  Underwear,  etc.,  83  Lincoln  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

W.  H.  MANSFIELD. 

Represents  Farley,  Harvey  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of  Dry  Goods, 
fil  to  67  Chauncy  St.,  and  39,  41  and  43  Bedford  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

W.  L.  GOULD. 

Represents  Brown,  Durrell  &  Co.,  importers  and  manufacturers  of  Hos- 
iery, Handkerchiefs,  Underwear,  etc.,  corner  Kingston  and  Essex  Sts., 
Boston,  Mass. 


211 

W.  S.  HAYNES,  Jr. 

Represents  Claflin,  Larrabee  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of  Hosiery, 
(iloves  and  Underwear,  83  Lincoln  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

H.  L.  SOUTHER. 

Represents  Coleman,  Mead  &  Co.,  dealers  and  importers  of  Small  Wares, 
Fancy  Goods,  Hosiery,  etc.,  19  Chauney  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

WILLIS  C.  HARDY. 

Represents  Norcross,  Mellen  &  Co.,  importers  of  China  Ware,  Crock- 
ery, Glass  and  Plated  Ware,  Lamps.  14  to  20  Merchants'  Row,  Boston, 
Mass.    At  store,  Mondays. 

E.  H.  MACDONALD. 

Proprietor  of  the  Harvard  Extract  Co.  The  finest  flavored,  purest  qual- 
ity and  strongest  Extracts  in  the  market.    Cambridgeport,  Mass. 

W.  S.  ALLEN. 

Represents  D.  A.  Snell,  dealer  in  Plain  and  Fancy  Crackers.  1  William 
St.,  corner  Water  St.,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

A.  P.  YOITNGMAN. 

Represents  W.  H.  Chipman  &  Co.,  importers  and  manufacturers  of  tine 
Carpetings,  Straw  Mattings,  etc.,  22  Bedford  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

JOHN  H.  COMEY. 

Represents  Cumner,  Jones  &  Co.,  Clothiers  and  Tailors  Trimmings, 
83  and  85  Summer  and  12  and  14  Kingston  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

W.  S.  GAYLORD. 

Represents  Xonatuck  Silk  Co.,  18  Summer  St.,  Boston  Mass. 

WALTER  C.  GRANT. 

Represents  E.  &  F.  King  &  Co..  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  Paints, 
Oils  and  Varnishes,  2G  and  27  India  Street,  corner  Milk,  Boston,  Mass. 

€.  E.  CARRUTH. 

Represents  C.  H.  Carruth  &  Co.,  manufacturers  and  jobbers  of  Fine 
Cigars,  Tobacco,  Pipes,  etc.,  46  Hanover  St..  Boston,  Mass. 

M.  E.  ARNOLD. 
Represents    Seabury   <&  Johnson,    manufacturers   of    Phirinuopeia, 
Antiseptic  Dressings,  etc.,  New  York  and  London. 

FRANK  E.  MAYO. 
Represents  Dams,  Stoidird  &  Keadill,  impart  3H  anl  miaafacturars 
of  Cutlery,  Fishing  Tackle,  Base  Ball  and  Athletic  Goods,  374  Washington 
St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


212 


ERRATA. 

Page  52,  bottom  lines,  Edward  Clark,  should  be 
Edward  Clark  Hurt. 

Page  62,  line  13,  Thomas  Lome,  should  be  Thom- 
as Lowe. 


M181194 


|-7f 

P?sJ? 


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